Casting Bait
As the actresses were walking out of the set after finishing their scenes, they were greeted by Lee Ji-Yeon's bright smile and praises.
"You did great, Eun-Yung. Yoo-Jin, your acting has improved a lot."
"Thank you, Ms. Lee."
"No, thank you. It was a pleasure to watch you act. Coming here today was definitely worth it."
'Wow. This was the first time I saw Lee Ji-Yeon smile so brightly like a child.'
At that moment, a man's voice echoed from the parking lot.
"Ms. Lee!"
Nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds had passed since Lee Ji-Yeon's phone call with Kim Myung-Hak. Fortunately for Kim Myung-Hak, he managed to arrive within ten minutes, as promised.
Kim Myung-Hak led the drama directors and rushed over to Lee Ji-Yeon.
At that moment, the particular V10 planner schedule concerning the viewership rating had finally been deleted.
[Everyday V10]
[Date: Dec 24th, 2019]
10:00 PM
(Deleted schedule: Episode 22 monitoring. Viewership 19.5%)
Finally, there was a change in the viewership rating. However, the viewership rating of Episode 22 wasn't the only thing that changed. The notes I had written down relating to the viewership ratings for Episode 23 and 24 were also being deleted.
'Thank goodness. It's finally over now.'
Kim Myung-Hak panted heavily and said to Lee Ji-Yeon.
"Huff, huff, huff. M, Ms. Lee! I made it in ten minutes as promised. Ugh, cough, cough!"
Judging by his ghostly pale face, it was evident that Kim Myung-Hak had raced to the set with all his might.
"Wow. How did you get here so quickly?"
"M-my legs seemed to move on their own at the thought of you waiting for me, huff, huff."
Kim Myung-Hak, who had just turned forty-five years old this year, stood in front of Lee Ji-Yeon, appearing on the brink of collapse.
"You heard about the situation on your way here, right?"
"Oh, um, yes. I did, ma'am."
I was amazed that Lee Ji-Yeon had already guessed that some staff members had left the set halfway to brief Kim Myung-Hak about the situation.
"So, Myung-Hak, what will you do?"
Under Lee Ji-Yeon's pressure, Kim Myung-Hak gritted his teeth and glared angrily at Park Doo-Shik.
"Please give me a moment. I'll sort everything out. Huff, huff."
Kim Myung-Hak took his time to catch his breath and said sternly as he glared at Park Doo-Shik.
"Hey, Doo-Shik."
"Yes, sir."
"You're no longer in charge of directing this shoot."
Kim Myung-Hak's face looked ferocious, almost demonic.
"But Mr. Kim! That's too harsh of a punishment!"
Park Doo-Shik looked aggrieved at the fact that a prominent figure like Kim Myung-Hak from the same company wasn't on his side. However, Park Doo-Shik seemed to be mistaken that a PD couldn't be replaced.
A director could be replaced, but an S-class writer like Lee Ji-Yeon was irreplaceable.
Moreover, Kim Myung-Hak's career progression would definitely be affected, should Lee Ji-Yeon move to another broadcasting company as a result of this incident. Hence, in order to prevent Lee Ji-Yeon from moving to another company and doubling her script fees, Kim Myung-Hak had no choice but to make the tough decision to kick Park Doo-Shik out of this drama.
"Park Doo-Shik. Can't you grasp the situation? You heard me. Why aren't you heading back to the headquarters?"
After venting his anger, Kim Myung-Hak called over one of the other directors who came with him.
"Tae-Shik. Can you take over the shoot immediately?"
"Of course. I should be able to manage if you provide me with a few Assistant Directors (ADs) familiar with the set."
Director Jang Tae-Shik who had come along with Kim Myung-Hak responded while still beating his chest to catch his breath.
Kim Myung Hak nodded and gestured at the staff still frozen on the spot.
"Choi Song-Hyun and Kim Sung-Woon. Can you two handle it?"
"I-I mean…"
"Can you or can you not?"
"We can, sir!"
Being pressured and put on the spot, Choi Song-Hyun and Kim Sung-Woon quickly nodded in agreement.
Kim Myung-Hak then turned to Park Doo-Shik again and warned him.
"Doo-Shik, this won't just end with you being kicked out of the set if you choose to not return to the headquarters now. So, what's your decision?"
"Mr. Kim. No, sunbae-nim! The company should support me especially in times like this…"
"Hey, Park Doo-Shik. Do you only call upon the company's name after causing a scene like this on set? Should I call the CEO right now?"
Kim Gyuk-Shik was the CEO of MBS. He was known to be a very rigid person and a stickler for rules, so if he were to get involved, even a manageable and small situation could blow up into something big.
'He surely loves to make a big deal out of things.'
"Damn it."
With his face turning red and then pale, Park Doo-Shik threw the script on the floor and headed to the parking lot.
Swoosh!
A4-sized pages were scattered everywhere as the script's binding came loose. Seeing the script pages scattered on the dirty floor, Lee Ji-Yeon's eyebrows twitched and Kim Soll-Ip's face also turned bright red out of anger.
'Yikes. His career is over now.'
Upon witnessing Park Doo-Shik's reckless toss of the script, a cherished possession to the writers, it was clear that it was no longer possible for him to continue working in the drama department. After all, it was unlikely that any writers would be willing to entrust their scripts to him once news of this incident spread.
"Why, that jerk! Do you think the good ratings were all because of you!?"
Kim Myung-Hak raged after peeking at Lee Ji-Yeon's expression.
As the startled ADs picked up the script from the floor, Kim Myung-Hak bowed politely to Lee Ji-Yeon.
"Oh my goodness, Ms. Lee. Please let me apologize on his behalf. I'll deal with that punk once I return to the headquarters!"
Lee Ji-Yeon watched the retreating figure of Park Doo-Shill for a moment and let out a sigh.
"Myung-Hak. Now that I think about it, asking for a raise in my script fees kind of feels like I'm bullying you. There's a lot of talk about bullying these days. So can we forget I ever mentioned it?"
Kim Myung-Hak repeatedly bowed at Lee Ji-Yeon.
"Thank you so much, Ms. Lee."
"Oh, stop it. I wasn't actually trying to bully you. And also…"
"Also…what?"
Kim Myung-Hak straightened his back, eagerly awaiting Lee Ji-Yeon's words.
"The chemistry between the lead actress and the new character is really good. So I'm thinking of writing around two more episodes. What do you think?"
"W-wait. Really? But you previously declined when I begged for an extension of the drama."
"You don't like it? Then nevermind~."
"No, no! Who in their right mind would refuse an extended script from you, Ms. Lee?"
Kim Myung-Hak's face brightened.
Having two more episodes of a drama nearing a 20% viewership rating was a significant favor from Lee Ji-Yeon to MBS.
"You've come running this way for me, so I should at least save your face and offer this much, right?"
"Haha! You are the only person who truly understands me, Ms. Lee!"
Kim Myung-Hak put his hands together and flattered Lee Ji-Yeon.
"Myung-Hak~. You're not funny. Hahaha."
Despite saying it wasn't funny, Lee Ji-Yeon had a bright smile on her face.
"What do you think about extending it to four more episodes and…"
"Shut~up~!"
"No, no. Nevermind. Two episodes are enough. Yes, haha."
'Wow. he's trying to push for more even in this situation?'
I admired how thick-skinned Kim Myung-Hak was. One could even say he was quite remarkable. Although he promptly backed down when Lee Ji-Yeon told him to shut up, it was rare to see someone in a high position humbling themselves so much.
Kim Myung-Hak then immediately started yelling into the phone, ordering the headquarters to revise the broadcast schedule.