Chapter 44
As Seo Dongjin’s van swerved and then abruptly slowed down, Kim Doyun also reduced his speed.
There were still more than three hours left to Jeongdongjin.
Lee Beom-un, seated in the backseat, flipped through the cue sheets, seemingly trying to calm his excitement.
‘Well, it is the first shoot.’
When his phone rang, Lee Beom-un took it out.
“Yes, what? No! You should have sent an official letter. What? You sent it? Then why are they saying no now? Damn it! Anyway, I’m on my way down. Let’s talk when we meet.”
After ending the call, Lee Beom-un snapped at the assistant director sitting next to him.
“Hey, didn’t you say the location was secured? Damn it! They’re saying we can’t film at the police station. What now?”
Although Jeongdongjin was the backdrop, specific filming locations were typically decided by the director after the scouting team brought photos from the site.
This time, it seemed there was a problem.
The assistant director scratched the back of his head and mumbled in an embarrassed tone:
“Lately, dramas have been portraying the police in a bad light. They’re probably cautious. These days, it seems the police aren’t very cooperative with filming requests.”
“So, you knew about this?”
“No, it’s not that… I heard there might be issues, but I thought we could just try and push our way through…”
“Push through? What is this, bibimbap?”
Lee Beom-un flared up, pacing restlessly in agitation. Seeing this, Kim Doyun offered a calming suggestion.
“Director, don’t worry. Filming at the police station will be possible.”
It was simply a matter of meeting the station chief in person and asking for their cooperation. Being a local, Doyun knew most of the townsfolk, so they wouldn’t likely turn him down.
However, Beom-un took Doyun’s words as a slight and responded mockingly.
“Is your father some high-ranking police officer? Or are you the son of a congressman from Jeongdongjin?”
“My father passed away.”
“Oh, really? I didn’t know.”
When they had previously visited Jeongdongjin, Beom-un had seen the family photo hanging in the snack shop and heard Jeong Woon-young comment:
“Looks like your mom worked hard, raising two sons and a daughter on her own.”
At the time, Beom-un had even glanced toward the small family home.
And now, he was feigning ignorance about Doyun’s family situation?
His tone lacked any genuine regret, so Doyun glanced at him through the rearview mirror, trying to read his intent.
Beom-un, dissatisfied with everything, grumbled on.
“When we shoot in Haeundae, people just assume it’s a movie and step aside. They’re quiet and cooperative… How convenient is that?”
“……”
“But Jeongdongjin is such a backwater. The people are primitive, unrefined. If a drama gets filmed in their town, they should be grateful, don’t you think?”
Realizing that Beom-un was trying to provoke him, Doyun gripped the steering wheel tightly.
‘So, he wants to drive me out.’
Jeongdongjin, a rural seaside town, had no one like Jeong Woon-young to mediate conflicts. On set, the staff always followed the director’s orders.
Perhaps Beom-un thought he could harass Doyun enough to make him quit without causing any issues.
‘Especially now that the planning producer’s job is mostly done.’
From now on, his role would be limited to trivial tasks like arranging snacks for the crew or managing receipts—things that even a one-armed Hwang Changsoo could handle.
“I’m certain we’ll get permission to shoot at the police station.”
“And if we don’t… will you take responsibility, Producer Kim?”
“Me?”
“You sound confident, after all.”
It would have been obvious to anyone that using this as an excuse to fire him would look bad. But Beom-un seemed intent on pressing the matter, pushing for a response.
“What’s with all the talk? If we can’t shoot at the police station, I don’t want to see you anywhere near me. How about that?”
“And if I secure the location?”
Locking eyes with Doyun, Beom-un seemed to realize that backing down would mean losing face.
Doyun pressed again.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“Producers securing locations is only natural. You were the one who insisted on Jeongdongjin, weren’t you, Producer Kim?”
Doyun exploited the flaw in Beom-un’s statement.
“Did you just say it’s natural for producers to secure locations?”
Normally, location decisions were made by the scouting team in consultation with the director.
Producers usually arranged transportation and sometimes booked accommodations to help the scouting process.
‘You’re the art; I’m the logistics.’
That was how the roles of directors and producers typically aligned. But now, dumping everything on him?
‘Why not just ask me to shoot the drama myself?’
It was time to fight back. Clearing his throat, Doyun said firmly:
“I’ll handle the location arrangements in Jeongdongjin. But if I secure the location, don’t complain that it doesn’t meet your standards. That’s my condition.”
This was his way of saying: I don’t recognize you as a director. Got it?
***
As the ocean came into view, Doyun turned toward the police station.
When the vehicle carrying him and Lee Beom-un stopped in the parking lot, scouting team member Kim Deoksoo came running up, visibly agitated.
“I thought I was going to die waiting for you, Director. Please speak to the station chief personally.”
As he got out of the car, Lee Beom-un glanced at Doyun and said:
“The planning producer said he’d handle it, so let’s just wait.”
“Excuse me? I told the station chief that the director would make a personal request. After all the dramas bashing corrupt cops, they don’t trust scripts anymore.”
There wasn’t a single line in A Summer’s Cantabile about corrupt police.
But other production companies had lied, using fake scripts to secure locations and then filming content critical of the police. This had made station chiefs distrustful.
Kim Deoksoo explained further:
“I told them that if the director signed some sort of pledge, they might allow it. So, Director, it’s up to you.”
“What? A pledge? Am I some kind of fixer now?”
Lee Beom-un, being a dispatch from an external production company, had no intention of taking on responsibility himself. Instead, he looked to push the burden onto Kim Doyun.
“Producer Kim, what are you doing? Go and fix this!”
“All right.”
Kim Doyun entered the police station.
“Doyun! Hey, what brings you here?”
The officers, seated at their desks and working, recognized him and approached with welcoming smiles.
“Minjun hyung, Jaesoo hyung. Where’s the chief?”
“Oh? He’s in the restroom. But why are you here on a weekday?”
The police officers were all older brothers from the neighborhood.
They had grown up together catching fish at the beach and attending the same schools.
The police station chief had previously worked at the Donghae Police Investigation Bureau before being transferred here.
Chief Ahn Juyup’s first case involved catching a mugger targeting tourists.
It was a primitive crime—hitting solo tourists and stealing their bags—that left the town in turmoil.
At that time, Ahn Juyup had suspected local residents, but everyone in the town, including Doyun, knew none of them would commit such a crime.
‘That’s when I caught the mugger.’
Two delinquent teenagers, wandering the capital region, had run out of money after visiting Jeongdongjin to see the sea and resorted to crime.
Doyun and his younger brother, Dohoon, had brought the two offenders to this very police station. The surprising part was that both delinquents came from well-off families.
The chief, who had suspected the townsfolk, later apologized to Doyun. Afterward, he often patrolled near Doyun’s mother’s snack shop, forming a bond with the family.
With Doyun heading to Seoul and Dohoon enlisting in the army, only their mother and younger sister, Dohee, remained at the family home. Chief Ahn made a point of looking out for them.
“Doyun!”
Chief Ahn emerged from the restroom, grabbing Doyun’s shoulders in a warm embrace.
“Chief, how have you been?”
“Same as always. Hey, I heard you came home last time. Why didn’t you stop by to see me? I heard you had drinks with Officer Park but skipped me?”
“My mom was unwell, so I had to watch the shop. Jaesoo hyung came to the snack shop, drank a beer alone, and left.”
“Oh, I see. Your mom didn’t seem sick, though.”
“She’s better now.”
It was time to get to the point. Doyun shifted to a formal tone.
“I’m working on a drama. Could we film at the police station?”
“Of course! Why not?”
At that moment, Lee Beom-un and Kim Deoksoo walked in, their expressions blank, as if they couldn’t comprehend what they had just overheard.
“Are those your colleagues?” Chief Ahn asked, gesturing toward them with his chin.
Raising an eyebrow, Doyun replied, “Yes.”
“You should’ve said you knew Doyun from the start. Then you wouldn’t have had to wait over three hours.”
Chief Ahn’s words left Beom-un and Deoksoo looking embarrassed, their gazes fixed on the ceiling.
“By the way, what’s the drama about, Doyun?”
“It’s a well-crafted drama set in Jeongdongjin.”
“Great. It’s about time Jeongdongjin got some attention. Come on in.”
Not wanting Doyun to sit on the hard wooden benches in the police station, Chief Ahn led him to his office.
Meanwhile, Beom-un and Deoksoo, feeling awkward, began discussing camera angles. Watching them, Doyun turned to Beom-un.
“Director? Have some coffee with the chief, and I’ll guide you to the beach afterward.”
“…Do as you like.”
Beom-un turned to the assistant director and shouted:
“Tell the crew to get over here. Quickly!”
***
That’s when it started.
Lee Beom-un began venting his frustrations on the innocent Seo Dongjin and Eun Jihoon.
“Cut! Again!”
In the scene, Eun Jihoon was supposed to run across the beach, glancing sideways to see Seo Dongjin running alongside him.
It was a simple shot connecting the transition from a boy to a young man.
“Go back and reset.”
The problem was that the “simple” shot was being repeated over and over.
The crew started murmuring.
“Why is he pulling this power play on the first shoot? It’s not like we weren’t going to give it our all.”
“Exactly. Working with rookies is such a pain.”
“He’s probably trying to make sure we don’t look down on him.”
The crew assumed the rookie director was asserting dominance over the seasoned team by deliberately repeating the scene. But the truth was different.
‘This is his silent attack on me.’
Unable to vent his anger directly at Doyun, Beom-un was instead tormenting the two actors that Doyun was particularly looking after.
“Hey, Eun Jihoon! Can’t you even run properly?”
“I’m sorry.”
“And Seo Dongjin, stop trying to look cool like a model. This isn’t a fashion show. What was that?”
Even the onlookers felt secondhand embarrassment at how loudly Beom-un was berating them.
—
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