Taeha had expected a negative response from Go Seokjun the moment he chose a project that was not written by Baek Seung-chul. It was unavoidable. Anyone would have naturally rated the success probability of a Baek Seung-chul work very highly.
Baek Seung-chul was no ordinary writer. He was considered one of the top drama writers in the Republic of Korea. One only had to look at the fact that over ten works had been born from his hands, and every single one of them had achieved success. It was clear how foolish it seemed to reject his proposal.
To make matters more significant, what Baek Seung-chul offered Taeha this time was the lead role in a male-centric production. If it succeeded like his previous works, it was a role that could grant an actor the highest honor.
Despite such a casting offer, Taeha expressed his intent to refuse. It was only natural that Go Seokjun could not understand why he made such a choice. From the agency’s perspective, it was like kicking away an opportunity that would be hard to come by again.
Because the CEO’s position was so understandable, Taeha was able to answer calmly even after receiving the question.
“Yes. I intend to decline the offer.”
“And the reason?”
“I personally feel the work isn’t very good, which is unlike Writer Baek.”
That was it. The reason Taeha rejected Baek Seung-chul’s work was not complicated. The quality of the project simply wasn’t good.
Of course, even if the work had been good, Taeha could not have appeared in a production by Baek Seung-chul. They were entangled in a terrible ill fate. It was a grudge so deep that he even doubted if his Immersion Ability would allow him to immerse himself in the role.
But perhaps it was a stroke of luck. Baek Seung-chul’s work gave Taeha a solid reason for rejection. The script sent to him was just that poor. Taeha had even used his Immersion Ability to evaluate the work objectively, so he couldn’t help but be certain.
Furthermore, this wasn’t just Taeha’s opinion. He continued speaking for Go Seokjun, who seemed to be hoping for a more in-depth explanation.
“I’m not sure if you’ve checked, but the blind evaluation results from the 1+ team were also very poor. The score barely exceeded 61 points.”
It was exactly as Taeha said. Even the evaluation from the TF team, which was conducted with the writer’s name hidden, was very poor. A score of 61 barely cleared the cutoff of 60. It was a score that no one would ever expect for a Baek Seung-chul script.
CEO Go nodded, as if he had also checked the TF team’s scores.
“The score was certainly not high. However, I want to hear more of your thoughts, Actor Kang. Why exactly did you view Writer Baek Seung-chul’s work so poorly?”
Taeha looked into Go Seokjun’s curious eyes and answered. He hadn’t expected to convince the CEO with just a basic explanation anyway. He had prepared a proper response.
“The original strength of Baek Seung-chul’s work lies in the way he follows cliches appropriately while maximizing the material to pursue novelty through scale.”
This was the reason why Baek Seung-chul succeeded even though people always said his stories were predictable. He was a writer who knew exactly what the viewers wanted to see. Because of that, he always received love from the audience despite bringing in the most obvious story structures.
It was a natural result, as he brought the stories viewers wanted to see most — as if scratching an itch — and perfectly maximized their strengths. He didn’t just stop at maximizing the strengths of the story; he even bestowed a sense of novelty upon them. Writing dramas by bringing in subject matter that spanned across eras — such as wealthy families, Crown Prince Sado, the Fifth Republic, doctors, and the Japanese colonial period — and increasing their scale was precisely how he did it. The viewers were able to experience a world of work they had never encountered before through their eyes and ears.
However, these strengths were almost nowhere to be found in the work Baek Seung-chul prepared this time, *Real Seoul*.
“The concept of a drama dealing with a country youth who just moved to Seoul and their adaptation to the city was certainly a familiar one.”
However, a question arose as to whether this was the image in a drama that viewers wanted to see, which was Writer Baek’s strength. In particular, Taeha couldn’t help but feel that the way it pursued realism excessively was too different from Baek Seung-chul’s existing style. Instead of focusing on telling an interesting story as a drama, it felt more like it was intended for social advocacy.
Of course, reflecting reality well to draw empathy from viewers could be seen as part of the drama-writing process. However, this was not Baek Seung-chul’s way. Perhaps because of that, the unique fun of his work was not felt. Far from being fun, it felt a bit cliché and even boring.
Although there were comedy codes inserted in between to make the play interesting, their level fell far short of the fun usually contained in his dramas. It felt as if the scenes did not appear naturally but were far too contrived.
Crucially, the feeling that he was showing off how deeply he knew and had Insight into the era was extremely off-putting. These parts gave the viewers a sense of rejection rather than drawing out empathy. This was a point that a young adult entering society — someone in the same age group as Taeha, who could be considered the main target audience — would find particularly uncomfortable. It felt more like he was lecturing them rather than empathizing with their situation.
“As someone who understands the drama genre well, there were certainly excellent parts of the work. But to speak coldly, it wasn’t a project destined for success. In fact, I felt it was so out of touch with the times that I even thought it would be better to stop production now.”
Taeha finished speaking. A heavy silence settled over the CEO’s office. After some time passed, Go Seokjun finally opened his mouth.
“I also felt uncomfortable and bored while reading Writer Baek’s work, so that’s what it was. After hearing Actor Kang’s explanation, I can understand everything now.”
It was a reaction Taeha hadn’t expected at all. Go Seokjun’s face wore an expression of clear understanding, as if everything had been clarified by Taeha’s explanation. Only then did a thought occur to Taeha.
“Did you perhaps call me here…?”
“Yes?”
“Was it not to persuade me to reconsider Writer Baek’s work, but because you were truly curious about why the script was like that?”
Go Seokjun seemed to grasp the situation only after hearing Taeha’s question. Sure enough, an answer came back from him.
“Ah. It seems you misunderstood. It’s certainly understandable.”
“Then…”
“Yes. It’s just as you said. Writer Baek Seung-chul’s work was so different from what I knew that I invited you to ask why. And while we were at it, I wanted to treat you to some good tea I managed to acquire with great difficulty.”
Taeha looked at the teacup, which had grown cold while he was explaining. After hearing Go Seokjun’s story, it felt like a waste not to have drunk the tea.
Noticing Taeha’s gaze, Go Seokjun burst into a hearty laugh.
“Hahaha. I’ll pour you another cup. Since you’ve shared such a valuable story, I should naturally do that much.”
“That’s good to hear. I was starting to feel a bit regretful.”
“Yes. I’ll even pack some for you so you can share it with the assistant writers at the studio. And since we’re on the subject, I must tell you this.”
“What is it?”
“It’s about the authority to select projects. I am telling you clearly right now: even if you had rejected an offer from Dan Weber instead of Baek Seung-chul, I would have followed that opinion unconditionally without a word.”
“…Really?”
“With what you’ve shown us so far, it’s only natural. So, you don’t need to consider anything else when choosing a project in the future. Just think about yourself and choose the work you feel drawn to. AH Entertainment will follow your wishes entirely.”
It was an unexpected reaction from Go Seokjun, who usually seemed so cold. However, Taeha couldn’t help but believe him when he thought about one fact. Since the moment they met here today, Go Seokjun had not once asked why he chose the works of Park Hee-jeong and Lee Hyun-seung, who were mere rookies.
That meant the fact that the two were rookies didn’t matter to CEO Go. It seemed that only Taeha’s choice was important to him.
‘I thought he was a person who truly believed in someone once he trusted them… but I didn’t know it was to this extent.’
Taeha thought as he looked into Go Seokjun’s eyes, which were filled with trust. He concluded that meeting the CEO was not a bad thing after all.
***
More time passed.
In the meantime, *Your Brilliant Sparkle* recorded 15.9% for Episode 11, 16.6% for Episode 12, 17.4% for Episode 13, and 18.2% for Episode 14, officially entering the top five highest viewership ratings in tvM history. People’s attention focused on whether the drama would reach the 20% milestone. If it did, it could rise to third place in all-time ratings for tvM.
Given the current momentum, it was a definite possibility. The fact that people talked about nothing but *Your Brilliant Sparkle* every day was proof of that.
However, an enormous scandal suddenly erupted in the drama industry that rivaled the buzz of the show. Surprisingly, a video of Baek Seung-chul slapping an assistant writer’s face was released. This video spread rapidly through Social Media Platform 2 and various communities, inevitably causing an uproar.
As if they had been waiting, revelations about Baek Seung-chul’s misdeeds began to pour out. From his sexual harassment of actresses to his involvement in casting to take a cut of the fees — the fall of the Republic of Korea’s top drama writer happened in an instant.
While everyone was raging at the news about Baek Seung-chul, Taeha unexpectedly wore a bitter smile.
‘It finally ended like this,’ he thought.
Of course, that didn’t mean he felt sorry for Baek Seung-chul. On the contrary, Taeha was the person who wanted this to happen most. It was only natural, as he had continued to witness that ugly behavior from the closest vantage point.
However, watching the downfall of a teacher he had once respected wasn’t entirely joyful. It felt a bit empty.
After briefly looking through articles related to Baek Seung-chul, Taeha turned off his phone screen. It was over.