MBS Drama Department.
“PD Yu, come on, just take on the next project this time, will you?”
“No, Director, please say something that makes sense. All the works I’ve done so far have been mini-series, and now you’re suddenly telling me to take on a serious drama, and a historical one at that? If the ratings tank this time, are you going to demote me to the Variety Department like you did with Jiyong? Or are you planning to send me to the provinces instead?”
“Hey, why are you suddenly bringing up Jiyong? That bastard dug his own grave. We gave the maknae PD a bigger production budget and a decent time slot, but who could’ve known he’d screw it up that badly? He said himself that if the response was bad, he’d pack up and leave on his own. What could I do? He said it with his own mouth, so there was no choice. I heard the pilot he tried in the Variety Department turned out pretty well, though.”
PD Yu Myeonghan glared, his eyes wide.
“So, you’re saying I should just get stuck in the Variety Department too? When the ratings are good, I’m your golden boy, but as soon as they drop, you just toss me aside? Where else is there a case of ‘use and discard’ like this! This is the very definition of ‘use and discard’! The mistake was thinking you could fill your belly with the first spoonful. I bet we’re the only drama department that uses the maknae PD as a scapegoat and then demotes them straight to Variety when the ratings flop.”
“Hey, it’s not like I wanted to make you a scapegoat! But how was I supposed to stop your seniors from all rushing to the director’s office? These days, you’d think they’d at least submit a petition or something, but there’s not even a speck of that. Your seniors are the real problem.”
“I’d rather die than do a historical drama. So go talk to the other seniors, or find someone else to be your scapegoat this time.”
“Hey, hey, PD Yu—!”
Before the words were even out, PD Yu Myeonghan stormed out of the director’s office. The drama director raised his voice at Myeonghan’s retreating back, but Myeonghan didn’t even think of turning around. Inside the drama department’s partitioned office, all eyes darted toward PD Yu Myeonghan. With a look of utter disgust, Myeonghan left the drama department and headed for the rooftop of the broadcasting station.
Goddamn it.
The broadcasting world was a jungle. And the drama department was nothing less than a world of survival of the fittest. Unable to bear the bitter taste in his mouth, Myeonghan pulled out a cigarette and put it between his lips. He’d been off smoking for a long time, but right now, he just couldn’t hold back.
The reason the drama director kept pushing the historical drama on Myeonghan was simple.
Are you saying you can’t produce just because you’re scared of KBC?
Originally, historical dramas were the domain of senior PDs. But those very senior PDs, as if they’d made a pact, all refused to take on the historical drama. The reason was just as simple.
This time, MBS’s planned historical drama would be airing in the same time slot as a grand historical drama specially scheduled by KBC, the traditional powerhouse of the genre. It was obvious as day that they’d be crushed not only in ratings but in buzz as well.
– “Myeonghan, I’m begging you. We’re at a point where we have to be careful of even falling leaves.”
– “If we slip up this time, we’ll get dropped right before making CP. For us, this is our last chance, but you, Myeonghan, you’ll have plenty more opportunities. If we take this project and get marked down in our performance review, our PD career is just over. Over.”
– “To be blunt, we’re just mayflies, but you’ve got a long road ahead. Wouldn’t it be good to broaden your range by taking on a historical drama this time?”
Like any company, there were clear factions within the drama department. The worst of them were the senior PDs above Myeonghan. About to become CPs themselves, they were nothing but parasites eating away at MBS’s drama department. Creative freedom was stifled, and their thinking was narrow. It was painfully obvious they were hesitating to take on the historical drama for fear of blemishing their own careers. They were the very ones who’d helped demote the maknae PD. It made his blood boil.
“Hey, Yu Myeonghan.”
Just then, Myeonghan’s peer and the Variety Department CP, PD Seo Sangyeon, appeared on the rooftop. He was the one who’d made CP faster than anyone else by standing out in the Variety Department.
“What brings you here at this hour? Isn’t it time for the Variety Department’s weekly meeting?”
“Well, well, look at you, knowing all about the affairs of a ‘foreign country’ like the Variety Department. The director’s out on a business trip today, so the weekly meeting ended quickly. I’ve got time to kill, so I came up to get some fresh air and read the paper. But let me guess, your drama director chewed you out again?”
“How’d you know?”
“It’s obvious. It’s written all over your face. You look like you want to throw your resignation on the desk and walk out right now. What’s wrong with your drama department? How many people in this business have your talent, and yet they keep getting on your nerves. This all happened because they got rid of the EP position and made the director right after CP. Now they treat the director like a toothless tiger, for god’s sake.”
Originally, the drama department was a place where the director wielded absolute power. But with the director set to retire next year, the real power in MBS’s drama department now lay with the Team 1 CP, who would inherit the director’s seat, and the senior PDs above Myeonghan, who were all connected to that CP.
“How’s Jiyong doing?”
“Worry about your own future. Honestly, I’d like to keep working with him, but the problem is, the guy’s planning to head straight back to the drama department after launching this pilot. No matter how you look at it, your drama department’s biggest problem is not recognizing talent. Hey, why don’t you just go all in for once?”
“What do you mean?”
“To be blunt, what do those senior PDs have that you don’t? You’ve been hitting it big with every mini-series since your debut. In terms of results, what you’ve built up in the past few years is at least as high as, if not higher than, the towers they’ve built. Why not take on that historical drama or whatever and really prove yourself? Who knows, maybe you’ll make CP before your seniors do.”
Just then, the maknae PD from the Variety Department came running up to the rooftop, out of breath.
“Seo-sunbae, the director’s looking for you!”
“What? I thought he was on a business trip!”
“He canceled! Hurry! He’s furious that the weekly meeting ended in just ten minutes!”
“Shit!”
Seo Sangyeon shoved the newspaper he was holding into Myeonghan’s hands and dashed off. Even as he ran, he didn’t forget to clench his fist and give a fighting gesture. On the now-empty rooftop, only the cigarette smoke drifted up, forming clouds.
“Go all in, huh.”
At that moment, the headline of the newspaper his friend had handed him caught PD Yu Myeonghan’s eye.
* * *
[Playwright Jeong Yongdae’s Resurrection at the Daehan Theater Festival!]
[Daehan Theater Festival: The Glory of the Past Returns in Force.]
[Actor Jang Yeongguk, No Longer Just the Nation’s First Love, Now Takes the Stage as a Theater Actor.]
[stage director Seong Jihun: ‘Back on Stage After Five Years, I’ll Show My Best Direction Yet.’]
[President of the Daehan Theater Association: ‘This Will Be the Best Theater Festival Ever.’]
With the Daehan Theater Festival just around the corner, articles were pouring out like a flood. The president of the Daehan Theater Association even came out for an interview himself, so you could imagine the hype. Not to mention, the theater team Yeongguk belonged to was exceptional from the start.
Not only were actors who once dominated the theater scene returning, but the lead was a rookie actor who’d made all of Korea buzz last year as the “nation’s first love.”
But at that moment…
“Yeongguk, just a little more wistful expression!”
Matching the photographer’s request, he did his best to adjust his expression. Even though filming had wrapped, Yeongguk was still dressed in a black cassock. The reason he’d come all the way to Muan, North Chungcheong Province, so early in the morning was none other than for a poster shoot.
“Good, very good!”
Most movie posters were made using scenes shot during filming. But ever since the poster craze hit Chungmuro a few years ago, things had changed. Now, instead of using just one poster for a film, they used all sorts of concept posters.
The ones who benefited most were the photographers. Yeongguk, draped in his black cassock, knelt in prayer. The weeping willows, their branches long and drooping, swayed as if watching him. In the thick morning mist, the photographer’s flash went off again and again.
“We’ll check the photos we just took. Let’s take a thirty-minute break!”
The photographer and Director Shin Seonghyeon checked the photos together. He, too, had come to the reservoir in North Chungcheong Province with Yeongguk early that morning. Judging by his beaming face, Director Shin Seonghyeon was quite pleased with the photos.
“Director Shin, you look like you’re in a good mood.”
“Of course I am. Editing’s going smoothly, the poster’s turning out great today, and I’ve just got a good feeling these days. Oh, Yeongguk, when we get back to Seoul, I’ll let you hear the theme song Director Choi Yul made. It turned out fantastic.”
“He’s already finished the song?”
“He said he was inspired to start working on it as soon as he saw you acting on the first day of shooting. I’d always heard Director Choi Yul only ever finished right on the deadline, so I never expected to get something this fast.”
“Really? I’ll drop by the studio sometime. By the way, Director, would it be okay if I tried coming up with a composition for one of the poster shots?”
“I don’t mind, but what did you have in mind?”
Yeongguk felt the poster shoot was a bit bland. In the future, professional staff were brought in for poster shoots and worked together from the start of filming, but that wasn’t the case now. The photographer, too, was a rookie who hadn’t done many poster shoots, so he wasn’t keen on trying anything new.
“Let’s use the reservoir. Kim Mujin drowns the villain in that reservoir, right? So, what if a hand comes out of the water, and Mujin is grabbing it?”
“A hand?”
Yeongguk’s idea was immediately put to use for the poster shoot. But rather than using cheap SFX to create a hand, it was best to have a real person get in the reservoir for a more lifelike effect. The hand couldn’t look too soft or young, either. The person killed by the young priest was a middle-aged villain, after all. In the end—
“Yeongguk, we have to finish this quickly.”
“Just trust me.”
Director Shin Seonghyeon himself waded into the reservoir to play the role of the hand. It was spring, so it wasn’t as cold as winter, but it was still enough to chill you to the bone. In the thick mist, the willows swayed, and the young priest knelt at the edge of the reservoir, clutching the hand reaching out from the water.
It looked as if he was saving someone begging for their life from the depths, or perhaps pushing them back in so they couldn’t escape. The young priest grasped the hand emerging from the reservoir, his face expressionless.
As if praying for him.
* * *
After finishing the poster shoot in North Chungcheong Province, Yeongguk hurried back to Seoul. He would’ve liked to have some nourishing chicken stew with Director Shin Seonghyeon at a restaurant near the reservoir, but there was no time. The Daehan Theater Festival’s group draw was about to take place.
It’s been a while.
Yeongguk visited the Daehan Theater Association with Director Lee Changhun. The Daehan Theater Festival lasted four days, with sixteen troupes performing four shows each day. The order was decided by drawing lots, and by tradition, the lead actor would draw for their team.
“Who’s this Jang Yeongguk, anyway. The one that everyone’s making such a fuss? The media’s all over him, but I heard he’s never even properly performed on stage before.”
“Park-hyung, don’t be like that. I heard the tickets for this year’s festival sold out because of Jang Yeongguk. There’s even talk of adding more seats. It’s good for us, too.”
“As if the tickets sold out just because of him. Don’t talk nonsense. The Daehan Theater Festival has a long, proud history, and you’re telling me it’s a hit just because of that kid? And isn’t Playwright Jeong past his prime? I heard he’d retired. Now he’s making a comeback and casting a rookie as the lead?”
In the association’s auditorium, the leads and directors of other troupes were already gathered in small groups, chatting. They were all veteran actors who’d never left the theater scene.
“Director Lee Changhun, really, where’s his pride? If he left the theater because there was no money, he should never have looked back. Sticking to the TV industry, then Chungmuro, what a disgrace! If he’s lost the lead role to a junior, his old reputation was all for nothing.”
One man was getting especially nasty. It was Park Sangcheol, an actor Yeongguk also knew. He was notorious for being a hard-ass with juniors in the theater world. Yeongguk was about to step in, unable to listen any longer, but Lee Changhun grabbed his shoulder and shook his head.
“Ahem.”
As Lee Changhun cleared his throat and entered, the actors who’d been chatting quickly bowed their heads. Actor Park Sangcheol didn’t even bother to greet him, just glared and brushed past. The theater world was as strict as the military when it came to seniority. Even though Park Sangcheol was a few years junior to Director Lee Changhun, in terms of experience—
He doesn’t even treat him as a sunbae.
Since Lee Changhun had left the theater world, Park Sangcheol didn’t even treat him as a senior. As proof, Park Sangcheol kept shooting dirty looks at both Yeongguk and Lee Changhun. Then—
“Actors gathered in the auditorium, we’ll now be drawing lots to determine the performance order.”
As the association staff appeared, the chattering actors quieted down. That’s how important the performance order was. Since each troupe only got one shot, the order could be as important as the quality of the play itself.
For that reason, the slot everyone wanted most was the last performance on the fourth day. No matter how good the earlier shows were, the final performance would be freshest in the minds of the audience and judges.
Oh?
Was it luck? Yeongguk couldn’t help but be amazed at the result he drew. The last performance on the fourth day. At that moment, Actor Park Sangcheol frowned.
“Isn’t this suspicious?”
“Actor Park, what do you mean?”
“How does that rookie Jang Yeongguk end up drawing the last slot on the last day? All the papers are talking about him today. Isn’t the association rigging this in his favor?”
There he goes again.
“It’s just too suspicious. If there’s a problem, shouldn’t it be void? Shouldn’t we draw again?”
The association staff looked flustered. After all, aside from Lee Changhun, Park Sangcheol was the most senior actor in the room. In the end, Lee Changhun glared at Park Sangcheol and said,
“Park Sangcheol, stop being stubborn. Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Well, look who it is. Isn’t this the sunbae himself? I heard you’d left the theater, so I was surprised to see you back. Must not be making much money, huh? If you’re back to take a supporting role, your old reputation must be worth nothing.”
“Cut the crap and accept the result, will you? The more you make a scene, the more pathetic you look.”
“Pathetic? Then prove this isn’t rigged. How do we know it wasn’t fixed? Am I wrong?”
You don’t avoid shit because you’re scared, but because it’s filthy. Lee Changhun refused to take the bait and just glared. With tension thick in the air, Yeongguk stared right at Park Sangcheol. In the past, he wouldn’t have dared say a word to a senior like that, but now things were different.
He wasn’t planning to stay in the theater world forever, and there was no need to care what Park Sangcheol thought. With that in mind, Yeongguk muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“This isn’t a fish market. Does shouting louder make your price go up?”
