Chapter 46
“I finally get to see my son’s face.”
Doyun’s mother approached him as he entered the shop after ensuring the staff were well-fed.
“I heard you arrived in Jeongdongjin a while ago. Were you very busy?”
“Just a little. By the way, Mom, did you go to the hair salon?”
Tomorrow, after filming with Jeon Sera in Jeongdongjin, Doyun planned to return to Seoul with his mother and Dohee.
He had promised to take them to watch the live broadcast of the Music Campfire.
His mother, who rarely had the chance to visit Seoul, seemed thrilled and had likely gone to the salon to prepare. Her hairstyle was noticeably different.
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
“It looks great. Thank you for working so hard to prepare the kimbap.”
“Hard work? Nah. I didn’t even lift a finger.”
His mother gestured toward the four women bustling around the shop. Initially, she mentioned having two helpers, but today she seemed to have called in two more to assist.
“Doyun’s mom, we’re running low on eggs. What should we do?”
“We can probably stop making more kimbap. Right, Doyun?”
“Yes, the kimbap should be enough. We just need to think about breakfast for tomorrow.”
At that moment, the lights set up on the beach began to turn off one by one. The sequential shutdown suggested the coast guard had started their patrol of the shoreline.
Doyun turned to Assistant Director Min Kyungho and asked,
“AD Min, can you ask Director Lee how he wants to handle tomorrow’s breakfast for the staff? Should we arrange for a catering truck or make a restaurant reservation? That’s all we need to decide.”
“Alright, I’ll ask him.”
Noticing the tension between Doyun and Lee Beom-un, Min Kyungho dialed the director’s number while eating kimbap.
The phone rang for a long time before disconnecting. The subsequent attempts were met with a message indicating the phone was turned off.
“Huh?”
Despite multiple tries, Min Kyungho couldn’t get through to the director.
“The director isn’t answering.”
Doyun, satisfied with this result, smiled warmly and said,
“Then you’ll have to decide, AD Min.”
“Me?”
“Yes. When the director isn’t available, the assistant director’s instructions are followed, aren’t they? Just decide where we’ll eat tomorrow.”
***
Min Kyungho.
Not a product of the broadcasting company, he was a genius who worked as an assistant director at various sites.
In a few years, he would achieve great success in the OTT market.
As an outsider, Min Kyungho’s projects were often overlooked by major broadcasting networks.
Public broadcasters preferred to air works by their own trained directors.
This forced exceptionally talented directors like Min Kyungho into the realms of film or OTT platforms—or left them scraping by as assistant directors.
Even then, the position of assistant director ensured at least a meal.
Min Kyungho hesitated before saying,
“Would pork belly be too much for breakfast?”
“Not at all. A hearty meal is essential for getting through the day. Let’s set up accordingly and arrange pickup vehicles too.”
“But where could Director Lee possibly have gone?”
At this, Doyun shrugged.
Should he bother to retrieve Lee Beom-un from the military base?
“In my past life, he stayed detained for two full days. Let’s just leave him be.”
***
Late at night, Jeong Woonyoung was startled awake by the sound of his phone ringing. Irritated, he groaned,
“Ugh, who’s calling at this hour?”
He assumed it was Lee Beom-un pestering him now that filming had begun. But for this to happen on the first day?
“Why!”
-“CEO, I’ve been detained by the coast guard. They said I can’t leave unless you send a formal promise to the broadcasting station.”
“What?”
-“I told you I didn’t want to film in Jeongdongjin!”
This idiot. Jeong Woonyoung almost cursed out loud.
The eastern coastline prohibited nighttime filming due to security concerns about submarines and spies from the North.
As such, directors would shoot daytime scenes on the East Coast and move nighttime filming elsewhere.
“So we shoot night scenes along the more relaxed Chungcheong coast.”
In dramas, this often resulted in distinct differences between the daytime and nighttime coastal settings.
For Lee Beom-un not to know this and to attempt nighttime filming on the East Coast with lights blazing? Ridiculous.
“Stay there. Honestly, I think we’re better off parting ways.”
“Why are you mad at me? I’m the victim here! I was detained while trying to film!”
“Oh, what an achievement! Ask Kim Doyun to bail you out!”
“He’s not answering. Neither are the AD or the cinematographer.”
For no one to respond at this hour? Just how much resentment must they harbor to collectively avoid his calls?
“This is unbelievable. I’ll meet with the station chief tomorrow to sort this out. Enjoy the military food in the meantime. Bye!”
***
“Good morning, Director.”
“Ah, hello.”
MBS Drama Director Oh Youngguk noticed a pale yellow envelope on his desk and tilted his head in curiosity.
“What’s this?”
The envelope felt surprisingly light, as if it contained nothing at all. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he opened it to find two tickets for the Music Campfire broadcast.
“Did Moon Sungil send these?”
The producer of the popular Music Campfire show, Moon Sungil, was notorious for refusing to distribute tickets, even to close acquaintances.
Not even requests from the station president could sway him. So why would Moon Sungil suddenly send tickets?
Unable to figure it out, Oh Youngguk dialed Moon Sungil’s office.
-“Moon Sungil speaking.”
“It’s Drama Director Oh Youngguk.”
Although they held different titles, the two had joined the company at the same time and were casual acquaintances.
-“What’s the occasion, Director? Calling me of all people?”
“Well, you sent me tickets. What’s the reason? Trying to get in my good books?”
Oh Youngguk wondered if Moon Sungil was trying to plant a new artist into one of his dramas. However, Moon Sungil, sounding genuinely confused, replied,
-“Tickets? I think Kim Doyun sent them to you. What’s the seat number?”
“C55, C56.”
-“Right, it’s the Music Campfire tickets sent by PD Kim Doyun.”
“Who’s that?”
There was no one named Kim Doyun in the drama department.
-“He’s a PD from an outsourced drama production company. Let me check… it’s from H Productions. Do you know them?”
“Hm…”
H Productions was a company founded by Jeong Woonyoung with external investment.
They had just started filming their first project, with the drama scheduled to air in a month.
“But why would Kim Doyun send me tickets?”
It didn’t make sense for a mere PD to send him tickets out of gratitude for approving the broadcast schedule.
At the same time, it wasn’t clear if there was an ulterior motive. There was no need for a low-level PD at an external production company to interact with Oh Youngguk.
-“If PD Kim Doyun sent you those tickets, it’s probably for a good reason. I’ve experienced the same thing.”
“What do you mean?”
-“He doesn’t do bribes, but he’s all for win-win situations. That guy’s incredible. You should meet him sometime.”
After hanging up with Moon Sungil, Oh Youngguk habitually turned on his computer, then took a deep breath as he glanced at the desktop background.
It was a picture of his daughter, smiling straight at the camera—a memory from the past.
Since his divorce, his daughter, Sangah, had locked herself away in her room, and he barely saw her face.
Even with two precious Music Campfire tickets in hand, the idea of attending with his daughter felt like an impossible dream.
“I guess I’ll have to give the tickets to someone else.”
As he slipped the envelope into his desk drawer, his phone rang. The screen displayed Jeong Woonyoung’s name.
“Senior Jeong, what brings you to call me so early in the morning? Is something wrong?”
-“Director Lee Beom-un, whom you’ve been backing, has been detained by the military. He tried to film a night scene on the beach.”
Sometimes directors would try to cut corners by filming without lights, but the resulting quality was usually poor.
Lee Beom-un had likely attempted to light up the scene like it was daytime.
“What did Beom-un say?”
-“He hasn’t apologized or admitted any fault.”
Jeong Woonyoung’s tone was sharp, clearly irritated by Lee Beom-un’s reckless behavior.
“He probably doesn’t know any better yet. He’ll learn to be careful next time.”
The only reason Oh Youngguk defended Lee Beom-un was simple.
‘Because he’s in contact with my ex-wife.’
If his ex-wife heard bad things about him, his relationship with Sangah might deteriorate even further.
To avoid that, Oh Youngguk took special care of Lee Beom-un.
‘I heard he’s even been texting Sangah recently…’
Unable to bridge the gap with his daughter himself, he relied on his ex-wife and people like Lee Beom-un to communicate indirectly.
But things weren’t going as well as he hoped.
Rubbing his temples, Oh Youngguk said into the phone,
“I’ll prepare an official letter right away. Senior Jeong, please don’t be too hard on Beom-un.”
-“Ugh, it’s because you coddle him that he can’t tell up from down…”
“……”
-“Ahem. Anyway, they want a formal apology and a promise of no recurrence sent from the broadcasting station. I’ll give you the fax number.”
To the military, external production companies and broadcasting stations were all the same.
Since the MBS director had violated the law during filming, they demanded an apology and a commitment to prevent future incidents.
Ending the call with an agreement, Oh Youngguk suddenly asked,
“Senior Jeong, about PD Kim Doyun.”
-“What about him?”
Unlike when discussing Lee Beom-un, Jeong Woonyoung immediately tensed, his tone cautious.
“It seems PD Kim Doyun is more important to you than Beom-un. You were nonchalant about Beom-un being detained but changed your tone when I mentioned Kim Doyun.”
-“……I’m just surprised you know him, that’s all.”
Jeong Woonyoung’s wariness was palpable.
‘Does he think I’ll try to take him away? Just what kind of person is this Kim Doyun?’
Curiosity turned into intrigue, and Oh Youngguk found himself wanting to meet this man.
“That guy sent me something interesting.”
-“To you? What did he send?”
“Music program tickets and a photo of Jeongdongjin Station.”
Taking the photo out of the envelope, Oh Youngguk considered his options.
It could be impulsive, or he could be falling into Kim Doyun’s calculated plan.
But helping to retrieve Lee Beom-un from the military, encouraging the newly formed production staff, and seeing Jeongdongjin firsthand all seemed like good reasons to go.
‘That’s what a drama department head does, right?’
“Senior Jeong, let’s head to Jeongdongjin now.”
-“What? Now?”
“If you’re busy, I’ll go alone.”
-“How could I let you go alone? I’ll drive. You’re the department head, after all.”
Jeong Woonyoung, five ranks senior to him, fawned over him with enthusiasm.
And so, the two arrived at Jeongdongjin, along the East Sea.
But!
The scene they encountered was far from what they had expected.
Instead of being detained by the military, Lee Beom-un was harshly scolding the staff.
“You punks! You think it’s okay to prioritize actors and staff over your director? Do you even know who you’re supposed to serve?”
From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like an outburst of temper. But Jeong Woonyoung tilted his head in confusion.
‘Kim Doyun isn’t someone who would let Beom-un walk all over him.’
If anything, it seemed as though Kim Doyun had deliberately orchestrated this situation to expose Lee Beom-un’s abusive nature to the staff and cast.
‘No way… did he actually set this up?’
The coincidence of Beom-un being detained and Oh Youngguk deciding to visit Jeongdongjin seemed suspiciously interconnected.
‘Look at Kim Doyun’s expression. He doesn’t look bothered at all—he looks perfectly at ease.’
A chill ran down Jeong Woonyoung’s spine.
It felt as though he had unwittingly stepped into a trap meticulously laid by Kim Doyun.
—
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