Chapter 60: A Secret Agreement at Daebudo

At the sudden news of a big catch, Park Hyung-jun hurried over and helped remove the hook from the gills of the rockfish caught on my fishing rod.

Park Hyung-jun lifted the rockfish and let out an exclamation of genuine admiration.

"Wow! This one might even make forty centimeters if we're lucky!"

At his words, Lee Sung-jae and Jung Sung-woo, who were settled at the bow of the boat, put their rods aside for a moment and came over to where I was to admire the rockfish I'd caught.

"It's got great girth, too. Writer, did you use to go sea fishing often?"

"I've only tagged along with friends two or three times before, but even for me, this is a first."

"This one's definitely sashimi material. Looks like the ones we caught are all going to be just small fry in comparison, hahaha."

The tingling sensation I felt in my fingertips while hauling in the thrashing rockfish still lingered.

Having experienced the solid pull of a heavy catch for the first time, I could now understand, at least a little, why Chang-soo was so obsessed with fishing.

"It's about time for the sun to set, so let's head back."

At the captain's instruction, we all put away our rods, stowed the fish we'd caught in the livewell, and returned to land.

After transferring the fish from the boat to the iceboxes, we each got into our cars and headed to the lodging.

Since it was planned as a one-night, two-day trip, I was curious where we'd be staying, but the address Park Hyung-jun sent wasn't a pension or condo.

The place was located not far from the Daebudo dock, but there were no commercial buildings nearby, and only a few scattered homes; it was a countryside house.

Stepping out of the car, I looked around and asked how he knew about a place like this.

"Ah, this is a house Sung-jae and I use whenever we come fishing in Daebudo. It's clean and spacious, so you shouldn't have any trouble using it."

"Ah, like a private villa."

Park Hyung-jun came over and whispered to me quietly.

"Actually, that guy's got good business sense, so I hear he has a villa at every fishing spot he frequents. Saves us on lodging costs, too."

With a hearty laugh, Park Hyung-jun returned to his SUV to start unloading, and thanks to the extra hands from me and the other two actors, we quickly finished moving our things into the lodging.

The weather was pleasantly cool, so we decided to have dinner out in the small garden, on the deck attached to the house.

Not long after, Actor Lee Sung-jae, who'd said he'd bring something from the kitchen, reappeared in a rather different getup.

He was wearing big pink rubber gloves and a rubber apron, with a long sashimi knife in hand—he looked just like a seasoned fishmonger at a seafood market.

"Alright, I'll handle today's fish myself."

"You know how to prepare fish?"

"Don't let his looks fool you—Sung-jae's got skilled hands."

Lee Sung-jae placed the forty-centimeter rockfish I'd caught earlier atop a rubber tub he'd set by the water, then deftly decapitated and gutted it.

With a gentle chopping sound, he separated the bones and flesh in an instant, clearly no amateur.

'With skills like that, he could run a sashimi restaurant.'

In no time at all, Lee Sung-jae brought over a plate of neatly arranged rockfish sashimi, grinning with satisfaction.

"This rockfish is in unbelievable condition. See the sheen of fat here? Even as I was preparing it, I could feel how firm the flesh was."

"Wow, thanks to our Writer Lee Jung-hyuk, we'll be feasting on fresh rockfish sashimi tonight."

"Wait, we can't have good sashimi without good liquor. Do we still have some of that stuff from last time?"

At that, Jung Sung-woo, at some point, set a clear bottle of infused liquor on the table.

Inside the bottle was an entire ginseng root, so thick it was hard to put a price on it.

"I found this where Sung-jae had it stashed behind the yard."

"Your nose for liquor is as sharp as ever."

"Anyway, let's all fill our glasses and dig in."

There were a variety of hearty side dishes and freshly prepared sashimi laid out on the rough but charming table.

With the addition of the ginseng liquor, I truly felt like I was being treated to a proper feast.

"I haven't done anything, but thank you so much for the wonderful meal, everyone."

"What do you mean you haven't? If it weren't for the rockfish you caught, we'd have gone hungry."

I picked up a thick slice of rockfish sashimi, dipped it lightly in soy sauce and wasabi, and put it in my mouth.

Each bite was so plump and elastic that I wondered if the flesh might push my teeth apart, and the savory flavor exploded as I chewed.

The taste made my eyes widen unconsciously as I looked over at Lee Sung-jae, who also couldn't help but laugh and shake his head in admiration.

"This is incredible. This is what I live for. Hahaha."

"Wow, this tastes on a whole different level from what you get at a restaurant."

"I like omakase, but nothing beats catching sashimi yourself and sharing it in good company like this."

Thanks to the fresh rockfish, the potent ginseng liquor went down smoothly.

As the alcohol began to kick in, the conversation naturally turned to works, fitting for a gathering of actors and a writer.

"When I watched Hyung-jun's 'Macho Restaurant' this time, I nearly hit the floor in regret. I couldn't believe a script that good didn't come to me!"

"Hahaha, I was just lucky. Actually, since 'Wise Hospital Life,' I've been keeping an eye on this writer—he took such good care of Seo Ji-won that I took note."

It might have felt awkward for two actors, both called the country's top handsome men, to envy Park Hyung-jun, known as the nation's father.

But it was clear that both of them truly liked my works, which made me proud.

"Honestly, I could tell it was a quality piece just from reading the script. I never thought the ratings would be that high, though."

"Right? It's really not easy to balance both artistic merit and popularity, but Writer Lee Jung-hyuk does it every time, so I was envious the whole way through."

I already knew how passionate Park Hyung-jun was about the craft from working together on 'Macho Restaurant.'

But Lee Sung-jae and Jung Sung-woo, despite being top stars, were also incredibly devoted to acting and their scripts.

I, too, had something I was curious about regarding Lee Sung-jae, so I asked carefully.

"Actor Lee Sung-jae, I heard you're currently filming a Disney series—is that true?"

"Well, I can't say much because of the embargo, but yes, I recently filmed my parts."

He was cautious because of the embargo, but among those in the know, it was already widely known that Lee Sung-jae had been cast as the first East Asian lead in 'Star’s War,' a flagship Western media series Disney had bought the rights to.

"You've been cast in the very series you've always wanted, and not just in any role, but a major one. You must feel like you've achieved everything as an actor."

"Hahaha, that's too much praise. I was just lucky."

"I'm curious—what kind of projects does an actor like Lee Sung-jae, who has achieved so much, want to pursue in the future?"

"Until now, I've worked hard to land the roles I wanted, and along the way, I was lucky to receive more love from Korean viewers than I deserve."

Perhaps lost in thought, Lee Sung-jae gazed into the distance for a moment, his eyes glimmering, before continuing.

"So this might sound a bit pretentious, but lately I've wanted to try a project where I can give back the love I've received."

Then Lee Sung-jae turned the question to me.

"Hahaha, I feel like I've been talking about myself too much. Writer, what kind of work do you plan to write next?"

"Oh, good question. I've been curious about that myself."

"When we were fishing earlier, it seemed like you already had a project in mind. Am I wrong?"

For me, there was no need to worry about embargoes; all I had were the rough plans in my head, so I decided to be honest about the direction of my next work.

"I'm thinking of writing a historical drama. A long-form sageuk of at least forty episodes."

"Whoa. So Writer Lee Jung-hyuk is doing a historical drama?"

"And a full-scale long-form one at that?"

"That's a genre I never would have expected."

The three actors all reacted the same way to my words.

Saying I'd write a genre none of them had imagined made them all surprised and intrigued.

"If you don't mind sharing, could you tell us a little about the historical drama? I'm really curious about Writer Lee Jung-hyuk's take."

"Yeah, come on, Writer Jung-hyuk, open up. I'll wrap some sashimi for you."

With a playful grin, Park Hyung-jun put a thick slice of sashimi on a lettuce leaf, added garlic, pepper, and ssamjang, then wrapped it up and fed it to me.

Smiling, I accepted the wrap and continued.

"Hmm, it's no secret. Thanks to you inviting me out to fish today, I was able to organize my thoughts."

I explained to Lee Sung-jae, Jung Sung-woo, and Park Hyung-jun the historical drama I was planning, namely, a remake of  with an overall story structure set through Godflix.

When I said I intended to write a sageuk focusing on King Sejong the Great, who created Hangeul, and the courtly figures around him, the actors' eyes lit up.

"A long-form drama about the life of King Sejong? No Korean could dislike that!"

"Exactly, and written by you, Writer Lee Jung-hyuk. Whenever the script comes out, can you send it to us first?"

I paused and glanced at the three of them.

"I'm not the type to take forever to write scripts, so I think I can get the first episode done in about a month..."

All three were not only talented actors but Lee Sung-jae and Jung Sung-woo had already hit the peak of Hallyu overseas.

If I could cast them, assuming the production budget was met, it would be a massive hit, but since they were professionals who kept business and personal matters separate, I needed to confirm their sincerity.

"If you're worried about the Star’s War series, I finished all my scenes last week. After so long filming abroad, I plan to look for my next project here in Korea."

At that, Jung Sung-woo, his long-time partner and friend, quickly placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"Wait, Sung-jae, that's still under embargo."

"I figured Writer Jung-hyuk wanted to check my situation. I think it's right to be as honest as possible. Besides, he doesn't seem like the type to leak anything."

Lee Sung-jae filled his glass with ginseng liquor, downed it in one go, then leaned forward and fixed his gaze on me.

"To be honest, I'm the type who only cares if the script is good. So I don't usually discriminate based on someone's tastes or political leanings. But if someone is totally at odds with me, I won't reach out first either."

There was an edge to his words.

He was clearly referring to the recent rumors about my alleged pro-Japanese leanings.

I nodded quietly, and seeing this, Lee Sung-jae continued.

"That's why I made time to come today, even with my schedule. If you really were pro-Japanese, I wouldn't work with you no matter how good your writing was. But with King Sejong? You got me."

Everyone smiled and nodded in agreement at Lee Sung-jae's words.

"Actually, one of the projects I'm working on is in a similar vein—a project aimed at promoting Korean culture through the booming interest in K-dramas. If it's a historical drama, especially a long-form one, that's exactly what the project's about."

This time, Lee Sung-jae spoke not as an actor, but as a businessman.

"What kind of project is that?"

Lee Sung-jae exchanged glances with his business partner, Jung Sung-woo.

The two of them, after years as actors together, had recently started a management company and drama production studio.

Jung Sung-woo spoke up carefully.

"It's not that we're testing you or don't trust you, but we can't discuss the investors for this project freely."

"Sounds even stricter than Disney's embargo."

"It could be, at least within Korea. Once the script is ready and we've confirmed our intent to proceed, we can share more."

Jung Sung-woo explained that until then, they couldn't promise anything or offer concrete help.

'Who could the investors possibly be, for these top stars to be this careful?'

It was a little unsettling not to know, but a large-scale historical drama would require astronomical production costs.

And since the two actors wanted to help, I decided to accept for now.

"Alright. Once the first script is ready, we can discuss further."

At my words, Lee Sung-jae smiled and reached out to shake my hand, and I took it.

"For some reason, I have a strong feeling we'll be working together soon."

"Yes, I feel the same."

And so, the day at Daebudo came to a close.