Chapter 65: The Love Some Offer”

Kingdom Entertainment.

“Here’s a gift.”

“Wow~ Thank you!”

“Thank you!”

I handed out souvenirs to the agency staff after returning from my trip.

“Where’s the CEO?”

“He’s inside.”

“CEO~”

As soon as I opened the door to the CEO’s office, I saw Hyungkyu focused on his laptop.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Hyungkyu responded dryly without even glancing at me.

“I’m here, and you don’t even look at me? What are you so focused on?”

“A webtoon.”

“A webtoon?”

A webtoon? I’d never read one, but I knew what it was.

“Why are you reading that instead of working?”

“This is work too.”

“What webtoon are you reading? …Romance?”

Curious about what had him so engrossed, I peeked at his monitor from behind. 

The screen displayed a flashy, pink-heavy art style.

“You’re into this kind of thing?”

“Are you dissing romance?”

“Who’s dissing? It just doesn’t seem like your thing…”

No matter how I looked at it, he didn’t seem like someone who’d care about other people’s love stories.

“What’s the story about?”

“It’s about a girl who was bullied, goes back in time by chance, and builds a romance with her first love.”

“Ohh~”

Just from the description, it felt packed with romance webtoon clichés.

“This character here.”

Hyungkyu pointed to a handsome male character with brown hair on the screen.

“What do you think about playing him?”

“Me?”

The speech bubble on the screen read: [If I said I missed you, would you even listen?]

Just reading it made my toes curl.

“The lines are pretty intense, huh?”

“He’s the second male lead.”

Of course, a romance webtoon wouldn’t be complete without a second male lead.

“What’s this character like?”

“He’s the neighbor living above or below the female lead. At first, they clash over noise between floors, but later, he falls for her.”

“Is there a script?”

“Over there.”

I had a hunch when I saw Hyungkyu reading a romance webtoon out of nowhere. 

It’s being adapted into a drama.

‘Love Some.’

The title alone was full of butterflies.

“It’s about time you did a melodrama.”

Even with genre dramas being all the rage these days, there was still a place for heart-fluttering melodramas.

“Is it fun?”

“It’s a bit cheesy, but it’s easy to watch and perfect for attracting female fans.”

I picked up the script lying on the table.

“I’ll give it a read.”

“The slot’s good. tvM’s Monday-Tuesday drama. Read it carefully.”

Getting a second male lead script was definitely a big deal, thanks to the success of Blue Sky Spring.

“So, where’s my gift?”

“Oh, of course, I got you something.”

I was unsure what to get the CEO, but Jiwon insisted he’d love it, so I bought it.

“What’s this?”

I handed Hyungkyu a small box. 

When he opened it, a shimmering blue jade bracelet gleamed inside.

“It’s a jade bracelet.”

“Jade… They have this in Phuket?”

“They do. It’s supposed to be good for your health.”

The explanation made it sound like a cure-all. Who knew such a thing existed?

“…Don’t go buying health supplements or anything like that.”

“They said it emits negative ions or something?”

“Even kids these days wouldn’t buy this… All the way to Phuket… Anyway, thanks.”

Hyungkyu tossed the bracelet into a drawer.

“We’ll have a meeting, but since it came to us, you’ll probably get it if you say yes.”

“Got it.”

And so, I headed home with four volumes of the script.

‘Love Some.’

The drama’s story went like this: A female protagonist, bullied in high school, grows up to become a functioning adult. 

She hears that her first love has died, but after waking up one day, she finds herself back in the past.

In this past, she reunites with the first love she only admired from afar and tries to make her unspoken feelings come true.

“It’s a bit cheesy, but it’s kind of fun.”

It was entertaining to see the bullied protagonist, now an adult, take down her old tormentors with flair. 

She showed mature confidence but got flustered in front of her first love, which was cute.

“What happens next?”

The script I got only covered four episodes, so naturally, I got curious about the rest. 

Like Hyungkyu, I started reading the webtoon.

“Oh…”

And then I fell into deep thought.

There’s no substance to this.

The beginning was intriguing enough. 

But later, it just kept throwing out build-up bait and stretching the story with endless “heart-fluttering” moments.

“There’s no progress at all.”

Even after many chapters, the two leads were still just flirting… Oh, so that’s why it’s called Love Some?

“…”

I didn’t know how the adaptation would turn out, but the original was decent only in its early setup. 

The latter half was, frankly, not great. 

And the readers seemed to agree, with comments in the later chapters like, “When are they going to date?” and “When will the story actually move forward?”

“Should I just pass on it?”

But the script for the first four episodes was too good to let go.

As I wrestled with the decision, the day of reckoning approached.

“So, have you decided?”

“I’m not sure. The script is good, but the original webtoon’s second half is practically empty.”

“I felt that too. But with the adaptation, it might be fine, right? The script for the first four episodes is solid.”

Hyungkyu seemed to put more faith in the adaptation than the original.

“So, is it possible to meet with the writer?”

That was my final decision. 

Talking to the writer handling the adaptation might give me some clarity.

***

It was a way to avoid falling for a synopsis scam.

“A meeting… I’ll bring it up.”

“Thanks.”

“But as a rookie, you might get some flak for being picky.”

“A meeting? Who dares to request a meeting with me?”

Jina, curious about who this audacious person was, asked, wondering why anyone would dare suggest a meeting when most would jump at the chance without question.

“It’s Jung Hyunjae’s side.”

“Jung Hyunjae? Oh~ Book him.”

But upon hearing Hyunjae’s name, she quickly agreed.

“Book him?”

Given Jina’s personality, Hyerim, the assistant writer, was shocked that she didn’t dismiss it outright.

“If it were anyone else, I’d have cut them off. But Jung Hyunjae? I can let it slide.”

‘Love Some’ was based on a webtoon, so the actors’ visuals had to match the characters straight out of the comic.

Thus, Jina’s casting condition was singular: visuals.

“His face is the best.”

“He’s good at acting too,” Hyerim added, but Jina wasn’t particularly interested in acting.

“Oh? I haven’t seen him act. As long as it’s not terrible, it’s fine.”

Hyerim found Jina’s attitude frustrating, but since Jina was the one mentoring her, she kept quiet.

“Come to the meeting with me.”

“Me too?”

“Do I have to sit face-to-face with a kid alone? You do it.”

“Oh… Okay.”

When Hyerim first started as an assistant writer, Jina wasn’t like this.

But as Jina gained fame and started a drama writing academy, most of the work fell to Hyerim.

“The main lead will probably be Ji Seojin, and with Jung Hyunjae as the second male lead… It’s a guaranteed hit. With those visuals, who wouldn’t watch?”

This isn’t the time for that.

Hyerim, sitting beside Jina, was anxious. They needed to finalize the story before filming, but Jina was distracted.

“How about having them miss each other in episode 7 and reunite in episode 8? The original drags too much, and the readers’ feedback…”

“Why do they miss each other?”

“Huh?”

Jina had clearly reviewed the content up to episode 6 not long ago, but she didn’t remember a thing.

“Oh, that part? Just handle it. Am I supposed to spoon-feed you everything? You’re past that stage.”

Jina had a history of flipping out and scrapping things after saying “handle it,” so Hyerim was on the verge of a breakdown.

Sigh… Should I look for another path?

She’d thought about it countless times, but her years of effort, her dreams, and her parents’ expectations loomed large, making it impossible to act.

“What are you doing? Casting’s almost done, and we need to write the script soon.”

“Yes…”

“I’m off to give a lecture. Work on the storyline.”

With that, Jina grabbed her designer bag and left the studio. 

As soon as she was gone, the youngest assistant writer spoke to Hyerim.

“It’s her project, isn’t it? But she makes you do everything from start to finish. Is it even her work anymore?”

“Sigh… I don’t know.”

“It’s ridiculous. I’m quitting after this project.”

“What?”

The youngest, only five months in, was already giving her resignation notice.

“There’s no future here. So don’t just stay like an idiot—look for something else. I’m telling you, she’ll never let you go independent.”

“No way.”

Two years ago, Hyerim would’ve brushed it off, but now, hearing this, she was genuinely scared it might be true.

“Don’t regret it later, unnie. You’re going to get stabbed in the back.”

“Ugh, let’s just work on the next episode…”

To avoid last-minute script chaos, she had no choice but to sit at her laptop.

“I was surprised you suggested a meeting first. Haha.”

The laugh at the end was clearly a veiled jab: You dare ask for a meeting with me?

“I loved the script so much, I really wanted to talk with the writer.”

They wouldn’t have agreed to the meeting if they disliked me, so there was no need to grovel too much.

“Hyunjae said he loved the script.”

Hyungkyu was at the meeting too, saying something about not letting me get pushed around by smooth-talking writers.

“Writer, I enjoyed all your previous works.”

“Oh my~ Really? Thank you. Hyunjae-ssi, you’re even more handsome in person. The camera doesn’t do you justice!”

The atmosphere was warm, but there was a subtle tension beneath it.

“Thank you. And the person next to you is…?”

Unlike the glammed-up writer, there was a woman who looked like she hadn’t slept in a week.

“Oh, our assistant writer.”

“Hello, I’m Bong Hyerim.”

She adjusted her large glasses and greeted me with half-closed eyes.

She looks like she might collapse any second. Is she okay?

“Hello, I’m Jung Hyunjae.”

“So, what’s our Hyunjae curious about?”

A sharp glint flashed in the writer’s eyes, as if to say, Let’s see how impressive your questions are.

“There’s a part in the latter half where the second male lead fills in for the main lead, and it seems to stir a lot of mixed reactions.”

That part made it feel like the female lead was stringing him along, which sparked controversy and criticism.

“Oh, we know all about that.”

“So I was wondering how that part will be handled. Since the second male lead got a lot of hate, I’m a bit worried.”

“That part… How are we handling it?”

Without even thinking, the writer tossed the question to her assistant.

“We haven’t written the script that far yet, but… I’m aware of that issue, so we won’t follow the original exactly. We’ll emphasize the second male lead’s unrequited love a bit more…”

The assistant writer knew the story better than the main writer. 

Unless you were clueless, it was obvious.

The one writing this drama wasn’t the main writer—it was the assistant.

“I think it’d be great to work together.”

“Hahaha, let’s meet again next time.”

They gave off a vibe like they’d love to collaborate, but they didn’t commit to anything concrete and wrapped up the meeting.

As soon as we parted ways, I told Hyungkyu.

“CEO, I’m not doing it.”