Chapter 89: The Script He Refused

Originally, Do Tae-ha received many offers for his next project.

The number gradually increased until, at some point, the scripts and scenarios coming to Tae-ha reached a level that was difficult to handle alone. Among them, there were a few works he was considering favorably. He had even been reviewing them positively.

However, he had no choice but to give them all up due to the writing and filming of *Your Brilliant Sparkle*. It was impossible for him to find the time to start another project.

For a while, Tae-ha did not review any potential follow-up works. It was only after the filming of *Your Brilliant Sparkle* ended that he began his search again. After the show aired, the already high volume of scripts and scenarios skyrocketed. Many people who witnessed Tae-ha’s dazzling performance were eager to cast him.

Consequently, scripts and scenarios piled up like a mountain, reaching a point where it was no longer possible for Tae-ha to manage them by himself. Because of this, the support from AH Entertainment became more important than ever.

Fortunately, CEO Go Seok-jun, who had grasped the situation through Im Chan-hyung, issued an order.

“Please form a team dedicated to professionally reviewing Actor Kang’s works. This team will be officially launched as a formal team based on their performance over the next year. Additionally, if the launch is confirmed, corresponding performance bonuses will be paid.”

It was a measure that once again proved Tae-ha was the flagship star of AH Entertainment. Thanks to this, Tae-ha was able to review projects with a bit more leisure than before.

However, this system was not without its drawbacks. As was almost the case when Han Yun-seong nearly missed out on Tae-ha’s script, a work might be filtered out in the first stage and never reach the actor simply because of the writer’s reputation.

Im Chan-hyung was also aware of this issue, so he asked Tae-ha, “Is there anything you want to relay to the TF Team? Regarding how they should review the works or what points they should be careful about.”

After thinking for a moment, Tae-ha replied to Im Chan-hyung’s question.

“I’d like them to review the works with the writers’ names hidden, like a blind test.”

“That’s good. That way, a work certainly won’t be filtered out just because of the writer’s name.”

“Also, instead of considering both pros and cons, I think it would be better to evaluate only the strengths of a work. If the total score for the strengths exceeds sixty points, just send it over to me.”

“Hmm? Sixty points? Isn’t sixty points too low? If we do that, there won’t be many works getting filtered out…”

“It doesn’t matter.”

There was no need to explain why Tae-ha requested the works be reviewed like a blind test. It was merely a preventive measure to stop projects from being discarded due to a writer’s lack of fame.

However, the method of evaluating only strengths rather than both pros and cons, along with the low threshold of sixty points, was enough to raise questions.

First, the reason Tae-ha wanted the TF Team to evaluate only strengths and not weaknesses was due to the inherent nature of dramas and movies. Usually, people think a good work is one without flaws. But that is a misconception.

There is no such thing as a work without flaws in this world. It wasn’t about the impossibility of removing all flaws no matter how hard one tried. It was about the fact that it was impossible to eliminate flaws from the very beginning.

At the same time, it meant that the moment a work chooses a strength, certain weaknesses inevitably follow. One gain, one loss. There was a reason such a saying existed in the world.

Then someone might ask: If it is impossible to eliminate flaws, what is it that people call a good work?

In Tae-ha’s opinion, a good work was one that aligned its direction with its strengths and made them stand out. While the occurrence of flaws was unavoidable, a creator could maximize a work’s excellence by blending strengths that fit the intended direction. This ultimately allows the flaws to be overshadowed.

Tae-ha believed this was the way to write a good work. Therefore, to recognize a good work, it was better to focus on the strengths rather than the weaknesses.

Of course, it would be ideal if one could correctly identify the direction of each work and categorize both pros and cons, but that was no easy task, even for master-level writers with over thirty years of experience. Expecting a TF Team to do this was an unreasonable demand.

For that reason, Tae-ha requested they evaluate only the strengths. And the reason he asked for any work with a total strength score of over sixty points to be passed to him was also rooted here. It was to prevent high scores from becoming a price for harsh evaluations.

Human psychology worked that way. The harsher the price of an evaluation, the harder it was to see the strengths. People might even start perceiving obvious strengths as weaknesses. Tae-ha lowered the standard of the total score to resolve this very issue.

Of course, as Im Chan-hyung pointed out, this might result in too few works being filtered out, but it was unavoidable. As both a writer and an actor, this was the best method to personally check what needed to be checked.

‘If the review process becomes too difficult, it will be okay to raise the standard for the total score then. Even if it means taking a risk.’

Ultimately, the low standard of sixty points could be called a result of Tae-ha’s greed to personally review as many works as possible. However, Im Chan-hyung did not think this was necessarily a bad thing. It was a testament to how much Tae-ha valued other people’s work and how serious he was about his craft.

Above all, after hearing Tae-ha’s explanation, there were many parts he understood regarding why such a request was made.

Thus, Tae-ha’s requirements were delivered to the TF Team, and a few days later, the first batch of filtered works arrived. The volume had decreased by exactly 30% compared to before.

Seeing the amount, Tae-ha nodded quietly.

‘It’s exactly as I expected.’

Actually, Tae-ha usually felt that about 30% of the works arriving for him failed to meet the standards of a professional writer. They were works that had not yet shed the qualities of a trainee’s practice piece. It was a regrettable but unavoidable reality.

He had hoped that exactly this much would be filtered out by the TF Team. Since the result came out as desired, Tae-ha couldn’t help but nod. This was also proof that the TF Team understood the purpose of their task perfectly and was proceeding accordingly.

***

Tae-ha proceeded with his review of his next project with a much lighter heart. However, his eyes were incredibly serious as he read. It was only natural to read seriously, as these were the results of someone’s hard work and devotion.

Scenarios and scripts began to be sorted by Tae-ha’s hands. It was a process of separating works that required further review from those that did not.

It was while Tae-ha was in the middle of reading.

‘Huh?’

Tae-ha couldn’t help but be surprised. A familiar name was written under the title of the script he had just picked up.

To his shock, the name was Baek Seung-chul.

“Why is this person’s script…?”

Feeling suspicious, Tae-ha called Im Chan-hyung.

“Yeah, Tae-ha.”

“I’m reviewing the next projects right now, and I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Baek Seung-chul’s script is mixed in here. Is it correct that this was sent to me?”

Im Chan-hyung reacted to Tae-ha’s question.

“Ah, right. So Baek Seung-chul’s script passed the TF Team after all.”

“Ah… Was this also conducted as a blind test?”

“Yep. Of course. You asked for it to be that way. Anyway, Baek Seung-chul’s production company, Seoljungmae, sent the script and contacted me separately.”

“What did they say?”

“They said they definitely want to cast you as the solo male lead for this project.”

“…”

“Isn’t it amazing? A casting offer from Baek Seung-chul! And as the solo male lead, no less! I almost fainted. I was thinking about how much our Tae-ha has grown.”

“…”

It was unexpected news for Tae-ha as well. Even though he was living as an actor, he never imagined he would receive a casting offer from Baek Seung-chul. To receive an offer for a solo male lead role was, in fact, a massive opportunity.

Only the top of the top in the Republic of Korea received offers to be the solo male lead for Baek Seung-chul. Having worked by Baek Seung-chul’s side for a long time, Tae-ha understood the weight of this better than anyone. Especially for an actor’s agency, this was an event worth celebrating.

Because of that, Im Chan-hyung seemed certain as he asked, “You’re going to choose Baek Seung-chul’s work as your next project, right?”

Tae-ha, who had been staring blankly at Baek Seung-chul’s script for a moment, spoke up.

“I have to read it first. I only called to check if it was really meant for me after seeing the writer’s name.”

“Ah, right. You should read the script.”

“I’ll call you after I’ve read it all.”

“Okay.”

Im Chan-hyung answered that way, but his voice didn’t sound like he expected Tae-ha to reject Baek Seung-chul’s work. Instead, he sounded confident that Tae-ha would definitely choose the script once he read it.

However, a short while later.

After finishing the entire script, Tae-ha placed it on the pile of works not requiring further review without any hesitation. He had made up his mind not to appear in Baek Seung-chul’s work.

In fact, ‘As I thought, it would be better to choose this as my next project.’

Tae-ha had another work in mind that he was considering. It was a piece written by Lee Hyun-seung, who had left Baek Seung-chul’s studio. Furthermore, it wasn’t a work Lee Hyun-seung had written alone.

Park Hee-jeong.

It was co-written with Park Hee-jeong, the second assistant writer of *Running Time*, which Tae-ha had written before his Bingeui. In other words, Park Hee-jeong and Lee Hyun-seung had co-authored the work and sent a casting offer to Tae-ha.

For Tae-ha, it was a surprising connection he had never anticipated. As far as he knew, there was no point of contact between Park Hee-jeong and Lee Hyun-seung. Yet, the two people who shared a connection with Tae-ha had teamed up to write a script and send it to him, and he was currently most attracted to this very script.

This didn’t mean Tae-ha had chosen the script out of sentimentality. On the contrary, he was being more rational than anyone. Concerned that he might become emotional before reading the script, Tae-ha had utilized his Immersion Ability. He had immersed himself in the persona of an actor who had no connection to Baek Seung-chul, Park Hee-jeong, or Lee Hyun-seung.

Because of that, Tae-ha was making a more objective evaluation of the two works than anyone else. And in that evaluation, ‘The one that’s superior is Hee-jeong and Hyun-seung’s work.’

In fact, the difference was massive. The proof was that Baek Seung-chul’s work had been placed in the pile that didn’t require further review. This meant its quality was lower than the thirty works in the pile that did require further review.

On the other hand, Park Hee-jeong and Lee Hyun-seung’s script was the highest priority even among the thirty works in that pile.

It was a situation that even Tae-ha struggled to understand. Tae-ha thought to himself, ‘Why has Baek Seung-chul fallen so far? He was a man whose skills were beyond doubt.’

Tae-ha would only learn the reason for this much later.