The Suspicious Professor (2)
-sorry······. That’s how it happened…
“Yes, boss. Thank you for speaking quickly though.”
-What are you going to do now?
“I have to discuss it with writer Kim. The final decision rests with Kim. How strong is a single producer? Get hit by a broadcasting station, get hit by a star writer, get hit by a star actor, get hit by a viewer. So you have to be defensive.”
-If it’s defensive, I’ll take over the broadcasting station after being defensive twice.
A low, empty laugh continued over the airwaves.
I could feel that Yang Jun-kyu had resigned himself to the current situation and let go.
“I’ll check one more time for dinner. Is this an impossible situation?”
-You know how old the vice president is. You must be thinking how dare a historical drama that came to us once go somewhere else? The chief also gave up.
“Ah, when was the time when I was the king of historical dramas at our broadcasting station? Now, it’s an era where everyone is making a fuss about OTT historical dramas being more fun.”
-A nobleman who asks what’s fun about adding zombies in the Joseon Dynasty, but what do you know?
“Anyway, I understand.”
– Seungwon.
“Yes, boss. No, bro.”
-Me and the director did their best anyway. Please don’t think too wildly.
“No one can cross the wall of wailing vice president. I understand. You worked hard.”
After hanging up the phone, Jang Seung-won made up his mind for a moment and pressed the send button.
“Writer. I’m PD Jang. can we talk? It’s because of KBC’s organization. Yes, I think it will be difficult to air.”
Jang Seung-won finally decided to take out the resignation letter he had kept in his heart.
“It cannot be aired on KBC. There is no answer here. I want to escape too.”
***
After the contract to appear in the sequel to Sujanggo, Hwang In-joon contacted him saying that three days were a long way off.
– Give me some time in the near future. Not empty words, really. Choi Seong-bin wants to have a drink with Seo-hoon. Oh, and Chae Ji-hyun too. Not one or two actors here and there asked me to have a drink with Seo Hoon.
“If you make a seat, I will go out with a good heart anytime.”
-This is a personal question, what do you think, Chae Ji-hyun?
“Yes?”
Jeong Seo-hoon was puzzled for a moment.
I wondered if Hwang In-joon was misunderstanding something useless.
‘I don’t want to pretend to be a woman with a director who will take me on camera.’
-I’m saying this because Jihyun seems to have a secret heart for Seohun.
“Jihyun is pretty and charming, but I have never thought of anything other than acting.”
-Yes? Too bad. I thought the two would get along well.
Jeong Seo-hoon was puzzled once again.
It means that either Hwang In-joon and Chae Ji-hyun are not related, or Hwang In-joon pretends not to know and secretly looks at himself.
Judging from his personality, the latter seems unlikely…
-Actually, I only put the two of us in the room at the end party because I wanted the two of them to do well.
As Hwang In-joon beat even the wedge, Jeong Seo-hoon was a little confused.
In fact, the two are not related rationally.
‘Then what did you come to the studio without contacting me that day? We’re just between directors and actors, so do we share passwords like that?’
And the director didn’t even talk to me, so how did he know he was there and came to see me? Why did you come?
– I think we can expect good news from Baekryongsang at the end of this year. There is no domestic film that can surpass our collection this year.
“A white dragon statue? what is that?”
-ah······. If you’re an actor and don’t know what Baekryongsang is, you’re in big trouble. Still, it is the most prestigious award among film awards.
“There are many things to study besides acting. thank you for telling me.”
-I will organize and send you the general knowledge that an actor should know.
“You don’t have to, just tell us the title or search term. Then I will figure it out for you.”
-Yes, I will do that. I’ll try to make a real one soon.
As soon as I finished the call, I got a call from top star Cha Do-jin.
“Yes, senior Cha Do-jin.”
-Are you available today? Let’s eat together.
“I don’t think it will be today. I decided to eat with my family.”
-It’s a pity. By the way, I heard you are looking for an agency these days? You haven’t signed a contract yet, have you?
“Ah yes. I’m going to think about it slowly.”
-Come to our agency. I represent and am friendly. I’ll ask you to take good care of me under good conditions, and I’ll interfere well with you, so come to our company.
“I will think about it seriously.”
Since Sujanggo became a box office success, fellow actors who had filmed together in the past kept in touch.
Even Hwang Ra-hee, a supporting actress who played the role of Yoo Jeong-ah’s friend in Illegal, was sending phone messages whenever she could be forgotten.
There was a moment when he seriously contemplated whether to silence the phone that was ringing incessantly.
＜Professor Sejong Lee＞
This is the most embarrassing phone call ever.
Jeong Seo-hoon took a moment to catch his breath before answering the phone.
“Yes, Professor. I am Jeong Seo-hoon.”
-Congratulations on the success of the movie.
“thank you. Have you seen it?”
-yet. You must have been to a movie theater in the last ten years. Still, I bought several tickets and ordered a DVD. I’ll take a look at it later when I have time.
“You don’t have to. Thank you very much.”
-Still, these are the works in which the students I cherish the most appear, so I have to collect them and carefully look at them later so that I can go somewhere and claim them as an advisor.
Jeong Seo-hoon pondered whether or not to bring out the words he had been thinking about.
If you go into the filming of the drama, it will be difficult to return to school in the first half of next year.
I think it would be physically impossible to film a drama while attending school.
However, I do not want to just fill the graduation requirements.
In the 6th semester, which I have completed perfectly so far, I wanted to graduate with the beauty of a kind that I am not ashamed of.
However, Professor Lee Se-jong said something completely unexpected.
-Jeong-gun, the historical drama you said you were filming this time. Can I meet the person in charge?
“Yes? PD?”
***
PD Jang Seung-won met Sang-hee Kim in person at a cafe and talked to him.
Kim Sang-hee listened to the story calmly from beginning to end.
As if he knew it would be like this, Jang Seung-won was stabbed for no reason at the lack of emotional agitation.
When the explanation was over, Kim Sang-hee opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry. If possible, I wanted to air it on KBC, the home of historical dramas.”
“I am also very sorry.”
If you compromise on the production cost and the number of airings, you can start production right now.
However, that was a deal that Kim Sang-hee could not accept, and in the end, the KBC program went through the water.
Only the Budget Bureau, which wielded the production cost, and the Production 2 Headquarters, which cringed to look good to the vice president, do not know that fact yet.
“What will PD-nim do now?”
“I have to go somewhere else. I really want to produce this drama.”
“You’re leaving KBC just to produce a drama?”
“I have already received an investment proposal of up to 90 billion won from Net Prime. With that money, you can choose and enter any private production company. You can make it there.”
“Aren’t you thinking of starting your own production company?”
“I can’t afford to run a business. I’m just going to sell a megaphone.”
“It’s enough for me to come out well according to the script and collect the money, but it’s a bit unfortunate to hand it over to Net Prime. I think if you keep holding it, it will become money forever.”
“That’s what I mean. Aren’t all the dramas you participated in playing the role of filial piety for the pension lottery at the broadcasting station? It continues to sell well overseas as well.”
Jang Seung-won even explained suggestions from other broadcasting stations and production companies besides Net Prime.
“SBC said they could support up to 15 billion won under the condition of 24 episodes. It doesn’t matter if you come in with outside investment.”
“SBC doesn’t have that much money?”
“Right now, I spent a lot here and there, so I guess I can only support that much right now. He said that if he waited a little more slowly and went into production, he could support even more.”
“Former actor Jeong Seo-hoon, I want to make him build up as many films as possible while he is young. I don’t want to waste time.”
“I agree with that.”
SBC’s conditions are somewhat insufficient to enter into the conditions of simultaneous broadcasting and partial investment of Net Prime.
“I will increase the script to 24 episodes. Is it possible to air twice a week? The shooting schedule.”
“It is possible as long as you give me a side script.”
“Since there is already a 16-episode complete version, it’s easy to increase it. Do you know how fast I write?”
“I know. It’s a track-running machine. The Ferrari of drama writers.”
“I spend a lot of porridge in Ferrari F1 these days. If possible, I want to do Mercedes.”
“But didn’t Red Bull win the Worlds recently? Not Mercedes?”
“They’re not a car company. Well, I also eat a lot of Red Bull when I write scripts.”
“Anyway, I do have a relationship with writer Kim Sang-hee of the writing machine.”
Silent laughter temporarily eased the stiffness, and then the original subject resumed.
“Unless you want to reduce production costs, cable is the only option in the end.”
“Net Prime monopoly is not bad either. Come to think of it, writer, have you never tried OTT?”
“Yeah, I never did.”
“You seem reluctant for some reason, do you have a reason?”
Jang Seung-won was curious about that.
From the writer’s point of view, it doesn’t matter as long as the broadcasting station or OTT is guaranteed.
Rather, it is better to invest in overseas OTT, which guarantees a wide degree of freedom in the production environment.
There is a downside that the profit is fixed even if the invitation is received, but that is the position of the production company. The position of an artist, not an investor, is different.
“Net Prime doesn’t disclose the sales of dramas.”
“······ah. Is it because of that?”
“For all the dramas I’ve written so far, if you google on the internet, all of them come out with numbers that show roughly how much the total world sales are. But Net Prime is not open to the public. Just looking at the world rankings and country rankings, we can only guess that it worked well.”
“That is frustrating.”
Jang Seung-won said that, but he wondered inwardly what was so important about it.
“With the script I wrote, the drama sold 80 billion won, 100 billion won, that’s a career for me. It’s frustrating because Net Prime doesn’t disclose it at all.”
“…”
“That said, I guess I sold 100 billion won worth of ha-geuk-sang on my own, so I can’t brag to my family like this.”
Jang Seung-won felt as if he had just heard a piece of the rumor about Kim Sang-hee spread throughout the broadcasting world.
“PD-nim, I want to hear Seo Hoon’s opinion on this. Is it possible?”
“Ah, sure. Are you usually starring? It’s the writer’s one pick, so of course it should be.”
In a drama, the star writer who has a good script is the best.
Still, there is no saying that Kim Sang-hee is unreasonable for the production team or acting out of whims, so he was a good writer to work with as long as he met the demanding quality standards.
“I will call you directly now.”
Just as I was about to hit the call button, I got a call from Jeong Seo-hoon.
“Hey, the timing is amazing. I’m calling you now. Mr. Seo Hoon? I’m tired. I was just about to call Seo-Hun, but did Seo-Hun think of me right now? ha ha ha.”
Perhaps because KBC’s production was stranded, Jang Seung-won created an overly bright atmosphere.
“I was going to tell you something important. It’s kind of a phone call, but could you come over here? Writer Kim is also here right now.”
-Can I bring someone with me? He is my university advisor and wants to meet PD.
“If your advisor is a professor at Hankuk University? Why would such a person…?”
– It looks like you’re talking directly, will it be okay? He is a very good professor.
“Okay, then. Bring them with you.”
After hanging up the phone, Jang Seung-won tilted his head as he met Kim Sang-hee’s eyes.
“What do you mean? who else is coming? What is the instructor saying?”
“I heard that your advisor, Seo Hoon, wants to meet me? So they say they’re both coming here now.”
“Why is the supervisor the PD?”
“I know. It’s rare.”
***
After a while, Jeong Seo-hoon entered, respectfully escorting a gray-haired scholar-looking man.
Compared to his middle-aged and old-aged face, his hair was endlessly white, as if it had been preserved for a long time.
“My name is Sejong Lee. Nice to meet you.”
“I’m PD Jang Seung-won.”
“This is Kim Sang-hee. I am writing the script.”
Jang Seung-won was subtly suppressed by the strange atmosphere of Lee Se-jong.
The deep eyes unique to a person who seems to have a lot in his head seemed to suck him in without mercy.
“The reason I asked to see the PD was nothing else, I heard from Dr. Jung that there was a problem with the production cost.”
“If it’s Dr. Jung…?”
“This is my father. You two are friends.”
“Aha.”
In the meantime, Kim Sang-hee was muttering admiringly, ‘My father is also a doctor, what the hell is the family spec…’.
“I thought I might be able to help with the production cost that was lacking.”
“Yes? Are you the professor?”
Jang Seung-won’s eyes widened.
Do professors have that much money? Or are there a lot of rich people around?
‘If you’re a famous professor at Hankuk University, that might be enough…’
“In return, I want PD-nim to give me a small condition, no consideration.”
“May I ask first how much you can help with the production cost?”
“How short are you?”
“Even at least 30 billion…”
“Ah, that’s enough for my own money.”
Jang Seung-won’s hair seemed to be bleached at the gentle smile.
Was being a professor originally such a lucrative job?
Or are you a professor because you have a lot of money at home?
Which came first the chicken or the egg?
“If it’s a historical drama, the filming period will be longer, right?”
“Yes. Kind of like that.”
“My Jung-kun, if you go back to school next year, your undergraduate schedule will overlap with filming, right? I want you to be a little more considerate during the shoot.”
“professor······.”
“I only need to finish one semester. That is my request.”