Chapter 27
‘You convinced the writer for me and even made her rewrite the drama script…’
The first script of A Summer’s Cantabile that Doyun gave him didn’t have a child version of Yeonwoo.
But later, at the sauna, Jihoon learned from Writer Han Jiseon that a younger version of Yeonwoo had been added.
Apparently, Jihoon would play the high school years of Seo Dongjin’s Yeonwoo.
‘So that’s why you told me to swim with Actor Seo Dongjin.’
Jihoon couldn’t even imagine how meticulously and carefully Doyun must have moved to include him in the script.
Feeling heavy-hearted about how much effort Doyun had put in for him, Jihoon clenched his fists tightly.
The words, “Actors should make money through acting,” resonated deeply in his heart.
‘I need to stay focused and work even harder!’
Resolving himself, Jihoon headed to his studio apartment, where he found a box in front of the door.
“What’s this?”
Seeing the handwriting on the sticky note attached to the box, Jihoon’s eyes trembled.
“Congratulations on landing your first role.”
Inside the box was a red ginseng gift set.
He had never even received a gift for his birthday before.
As his nose began to sting, tears welled up in his eyes.
***
“Why didn’t you tell me that Cho Sangwoo had signed multiple overlapping contracts?”
Jeong Woon-young summoned Doyun to the company and started scolding him.
Even Lee Beom-un, who had been excited about casting Cho Sangwoo, was there, clearly trying to undermine Doyun.
“See? Producer Kim is on the writer’s side, not ours,” Lee Beom-un said, crossing his legs and openly expressing his displeasure.
“This isn’t a matter of picking sides.”
At Doyun’s calm response, Jeong Woon-young snapped.
“Kim PD, Writer Han is just a bird of passage. Once this drama is over, she’ll fly away.”
‘I’m going to leave too.’
Doyun had already decided not to renew his contract with Jeong Woon-young after A Summer’s Cantabile ended.
Writer Han had subtly suggested moving to another production company after this project, but Doyun didn’t want that either.
For Doyun, this project was more like a warm-up—a preparatory phase to fly further and soar higher.
Unaware of Doyun’s true intentions, Jeong Woon-young delivered a sharp reprimand.
“Is it because you lack experience in society? You have ability, but you make too many mistakes. From now on, report everything to me first. Understand?”
Thinking his scolding would make Doyun compliant, Jeong Woon-young subtly observed Doyun’s reaction.
“There’s something I need to report.”
“See? You weren’t going to tell me until I asked. From now on, report things promptly. Got it?”
“…”
“Ahem. So, what is it?”
Looking tense, Jeong Woon-young waited for Doyun’s response.
“There’s a problem with sponsorship, which I believe you’re unaware of.”
“Sponsorship? Isn’t that outside your job scope, Kim PD?”
Usually, only PDs with at least five years of experience could approach sponsors with the credibility of having produced hit dramas.
This is why production companies valued experienced PDs so highly.
However, Doyun, confident and composed, looked at Jeong Woon-young and said:
“If it’s not my job, are you telling me to ignore it, even though it’s obvious the drama’s quality will suffer? Without sponsorship, production costs will skyrocket.”
“We’re not getting sponsorship?”
Jeong Woon-young, sensitive when it came to money, grabbed the office phone receiver.
“Manager Oh, what kind of mess is this guy making?”
He seemed ready to summon Manager Oh Soon-gi, who was in charge of sponsorship, to interrogate him.
But Doyun wasn’t finished yet.
“There’s still more to hear.”
“What else?”
“There’s plenty. Makeup, location scouting, receipt management, marketing—no one is fully accountable for these. What’s the plan for handling them?”
Doyun had no intention of being stuck on set, running around in circles without support.
‘Does he think everything will just magically work out? Nothing works on its own.’
Back when Jeong Woon-young produced weekend dramas, the broadcasting station served as a safety net.
The editing team handled edits, the makeup team handled makeup, and costumes were assigned to the station’s wardrobe department.
But external production companies had to handle all these logistics themselves.
Jeong Woon-young should have been aware of this, but his long-standing habits made him complacent.
‘That’s why drama directors who start production companies end up failing.’
Managing personnel, budgets, marketing—it was overwhelming.
Jeong Woon-young thought money could solve everything.
While money did simplify some issues, there were problems money couldn’t fix.
‘That’s winning people’s hearts.’
Cinematographers, costume designers, sound engineers, music composers, and editors—all of them had poured sweat and tears into building their reputations. They were proud and strong-willed.
Offering them a bit more money wouldn’t be enough to make them sign a contract.
‘Not a chance.’
“First, you’ll need to hire a planning producer. I think the production and overall management can be handled by you, CEO Jeong.”
“With Hwang Changsoo unable to work because of his broken arm… I guess that’s necessary.”
Hwang Changsoo, who replaced Bae Shin-ho after he was fired for drinking excessively with Lee Jugeon.
The only things Hwang had accomplished as a planning producer were negotiating Cho Sangwoo’s fee to the point of nearly ruining the drama and spilling water on Do Sooyoung.
‘At least that slacker Bae Shin-ho knew how to delegate.’
Jeong Woon-young sighed and turned to Lee Beom-un.
“Do you know anyone?”
“How would I know producers working on external productions?”
Third-year producers were the hardest to find.
At this stage, they are at their peak productivity and motivation. Afterward, they face crossroads in their career paths—either leaving the industry entirely or settling into a long-term position.
“Hmm.”
Jeong Woon-young glanced at Kim Doyun.
Although just a first-year producer, Doyun worked as efficiently as someone with ten years of experience. Entrusting the task to him seemed like a good idea, but Jeong hesitated to propose it, as it felt like conceding.
And Doyun saw right through Jeong’s thoughts.
A faint smirk appeared on Doyun’s lips.
“Of course, this isn’t something I should be involved in. I’m just a first-year junior producer. I only mentioned it because you asked. You can ignore it—it’ll all work out somehow.”
“It’ll work out somehow?”
Jeong Woon-young frowned deeply, lines creasing his forehead.
“It doesn’t seem like you’re trying to create a systematic drama production.”
Lee Beom-un raised his voice.
“Hey, Kim PD! You really have a sharp tongue!”
If the chaotic situation was left unchecked, the ones who would suffer were the field staff.
‘And that would include you, Beom-un.’
As a director only focused on his own profits, the one left to bear the brunt of the workload would be the producers and the external production staff.
Anyway, Beom-un planned to return to the broadcasting station after the drama ended, so he avoided the hard tasks and only made unreasonable demands on the production company.
To block Beom-un’s ulterior motives, Doyun asked bluntly.
“Since you say I’m disrespectful, I’d like to ask for clarification. Director Lee, where do you plan to outsource the editing?”
“Editing? Why do you care?”
Lee Beom-un frowned as if annoyed that someone like Doyun was meddling.
“You’re not considering Miracle, are you? They had a broadcast accident recently.”
Miracle was a professional editing company founded by Park Jung-yoon, a former MBS editing team member.
‘They edit externally produced dramas and variety show footage.’
Known for their connections with in-house broadcasting directors, Miracle gained favor through generous holiday gifts like ribs and cash.
As a result, production companies creating external dramas almost automatically assigned editing to Miracle.
It had become such an expected process that nobody questioned it.
But recently, Miracle had made a glaring mistake, accidentally airing five seconds of black screen due to poor editing.
Doyun stared directly at Beom-un, as if questioning his indifference to outsourcing the drama’s editing to such a company.
Instead of brushing it off, Beom-un, visibly flustered, glanced nervously at Jeong Woon-young.
Why?
Because he had accepted a bribe.
However, Beom-un took a deep breath, straightened his back, and leaned into his chair with exaggerated confidence.
“People make mistakes. Why make such a big deal over one little slip-up?”
“Exactly. Since people make mistakes, isn’t it crucial to choose the right ones?”
Checking his wristwatch, Doyun addressed Jeong Woon-young.
“I should be going now. Writer Han Jiseon is waiting for me.”
“Oh, right. Go ahead.”
Jeong Woon-young, now glaring at Beom-un as if ready to devour him, dismissed Doyun.
Leaving the CEO’s office, Doyun smirked faintly.
‘That should have been enough for Jeong Woon-young to get the point.’
***
As soon as the door clicked shut, Jeong Woon-young turned his fiery gaze to Lee Beom-un.
“You took something from Miracle, didn’t you?”
Beom-un wanted to deny it outright, but he couldn’t. After all, Jeong had closer ties to Miracle’s CEO, Park Jung-yoon.
Moreover, as an external drama production company, Park relied on staying in Jeong’s good graces.
‘Even a single phone call could get Park to hint at the truth.’
Unable to dodge, Beom-un furrowed his brow in irritation.
“Why are you asking about that?”
“Why can’t you answer? Did Park promise you a car?”
“Maybe as much as what you got, Director.”
“What? I never took anything for work!”
Jeong Woon-young erupted in anger.
“Park said otherwise! Didn’t he gift your wife a luxury handbag for your anniversary?”
“That guy’s too talkative!”
During his days at the broadcasting station, when Jeong worked on a weekend drama outsourced to an external production company, he had accepted money from Park.
But that didn’t mean he thought it was acceptable to entrust Miracle with the editing for A Summer’s Cantabile.
Editing was the final stage of drama production.
It wasn’t just about splicing footage—it involved adding sound, layering music, incorporating the actors’ inner monologues, and even narrations.
Once editing was complete, the final version would be delivered to the broadcasting station, where it underwent a simple review before airing.
If the editing was rushed to the point of skipping even basic checks, broadcasting accidents were inevitable.
The recent incident with Miracle was likely caused by such rushed editing. It was proof that Park Jung-yoon had become complacent.
Doyun had probably considered this too. There was no guarantee the same mistakes wouldn’t happen with A Summer’s Cantabile.
‘I’ll probably have to assign Kim Doyun as the planning producer.’
So why was he so reluctant?
Perhaps it was because acknowledging Doyun felt like losing.
Promoting a competent junior producer should have been a straightforward decision, yet Jeong couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being outmaneuvered by Doyun.
—
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