Suddenly, I Became Crazy Handsome, and the World Became Easy

Chapter 163: Acceleration (12)

In response to Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin’s answer, CEO Heo Ki-tae asked again.“A historical drama style, does that mean it doesn’t have to be a traditional historical drama?”

Lim Hyun-jin, with a smart impression, gave a small smile.

“That’s right. Whether it’s a fusion historical drama or something else, as long as it has the tone of a historical piece, it’s fine. Of course, a traditional historical drama is fine too.”

“Historical drama. I’m not sure about the domestic market, but looking at the international market, it might be a bit unfamiliar.”

“Maybe if you look at the bigger picture, but surprisingly, there is demand. There are fans overseas who are into hanbok, and quite a few who love Korean historical films.”

As she explained, Executive Director Lim pointed to the tablet she had distributed in advance with her index finger. As CEO Heo Ki-tae lowered his gaze to the tablet, she continued speaking.

“You know this well too, right? The Korean Wave is riding a global trend right now. Starting from K-POP, food and content, our culture is growing rapidly. Above all, K-POP is seeing the most significant growth. Foreign language training has become standard for domestic idols, and they’ve now reached the level where they can hold concerts overseas.”

“I know. The potential is limitless. That’s why our Culture Drawer is also thinking a lot about targeting overseas markets.”

“Every company probably is.”

Lim Hyun-jin met eyes with CEO Heo Ki-tae.

“Netflix knows that very well too. That’s probably why, when I proposed this to the head office, they accepted it right away. However, since we’re going into production with a potential overseas launch in mind, I think it would be best to infuse it heavily with Korean elements.”

“True, there’s nothing more intuitive than visual media. If a historical drama does well overseas, the scope of the Korean Wave will expand too. What’s that word again? Hip? If overseas fans feel that kind of vibe, that’d be best. Hahaha.”

Unlike CEO Heo Ki-tae, who laughed heartily, Lim Hyun-jin only gave a faint smile.

“So, the historical drama tone is confirmed. But from here, it’s not going to be easy. Since the project is on a large scale, it would be too plain to just use something that already exists. We need to contact the writers and have a new work created.”

“…You’re probably meeting with writer agencies like ours then.”

“To be honest, that’s the plan. From our perspective, the more possibilities, the better. But Culture Drawer was definitely the first I contacted.”

“Oh- how gracious. Hahaha.”

“I won’t give specific instructions like ‘please create this exact kind of historical drama’. The writers we contact will have the freedom to think creatively, and we’ll receive the proposal that way.”

CEO Heo Ki-tae, who seemed to roughly understand, crossed his arms and slowly nodded.

‘This is definitely a big project. If even Netflix headquarters is involved, then they’re probably thinking about launching not just in Asia but globally. For a writer, it might be a bit of a burden.’

It wasn’t a wrong thought. Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin’s project, if successful, would be a home run, but if it failed, the damage could be several times greater than usual for the writer. Not just public criticism, depending on how things go, the writer could be buried in the industry with a lasting stigma.

‘And the genre is historical drama style… That means they’ll have to balance both domestic and international tastes and make it entertaining too. No matter how skilled a writer is, they wouldn’t be able to take this on lightly.’

Whether she read Heo Ki-tae’s thoughts or not, Executive Director Lim interjected.

“If the historical drama vibe is too strong, it won’t be an issue domestically.”

“But foreigners will have split opinions.”

“Yes. It’s a historical drama, but moderately and appropriately so. There is demand, but overall, it’s a minority. It would be better to present it in a way that introduces historical drama to the majority.”

“Like giving them just a taste. But it shouldn’t be too light either, right?”

“As expected, CEO Heo. You understand well.”

It was tricky. CEO Heo Ki-tae sensed that Executive Director Lim hadn’t revealed all the conditions.

‘She’s holding back. I’m sure there are more requirements than what she just mentioned. But she’s right, talking too much without a finished product is just a waste of breath.’

In any case, CEO Heo Ki-tae summarized the conversation so far.

“So, I just need to recruit a writer who’s suitable for this project.”

With a soft smile, Executive Director Lim gave a slight nod.

“I’m counting on you. I’ll be meeting with many companies, but the one I have the highest expectations for is Culture Drawer.”

It was certainly a proposal that sparked a lot of thought. Possibly a high-risk, high-return scenario. But for CEO Heo Ki-tae, who was the co-CEO of Culture Drawer and handled its actual operations.

‘It’s too good to pass up just because it’s tricky and intimidating.’

The conclusion was that this project had to be secured no matter what. Whether it was true or not that she approached Culture Drawer first, the company wasn’t guaranteed the project, they had to win it through a survival-style competition.

“If we do find a suitable writer, should they meet with you right away?”

Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin shook her head.

“There should at least be a synopsis. I plan to make the decision based on the work itself, not just the writer’s name.”

“Hmm, I understand.”

In other words, regardless of who it was, a clear synopsis was required before a meeting could happen. In a way, it was similar to an audition. Netflix Korea had thrown out the assignment of a historical drama-style piece, and the writer had to interpret and respond to that task.

This meant a wide variety of historical drama-style synopses would likely come in.

Netflix Korea could simply select the one they liked best. And if all of them failed to meet expectations, they could just hold a second round of submissions.

Once the meeting seemed to be wrapping up, CEO Heo Ki-tae stood and reached out his hand.

“I’ll return soon with a writer and a synopsis.”

Executive Director Lim took his hand and responded with a smile.

“I’ll be waiting.”

A short while later.

After leaving Netflix Korea, CEO Heo Ki-tae and the staff from Culture Drawer got into a van parked in the garage.

-Vroom.

The vehicle departed immediately.

As the van moved, CEO Heo Ki-tae stared out the window with a serious expression, deep in thought. A male employee sitting next to him spoke up.

“…For now, we’ll keep this matter confidential.”

“That’s best. I’ll speak directly to the writer myself.”

“Yes, CEO-nim. But… do you already have someone in mind? From what I heard, Netflix Korea’s conditions are quite demanding.”

The bear. No, CEO Heo Ki-tae, let out a short chuckle.

“I think so too. Well, it’s a big project, so of course they won’t take it lightly. Hmm, what kind of writer would be a good fit…”

Strangely, instead of thinking about the renowned writers at Culture Drawer.

‘Writing skills capable of pulling 20% viewership even for a one-act drama, flexibility in storytelling strong enough to stir up not just Korea but Japan too, writing speed that leaves others speechless, and fluent foreign language skills that allow self-translation.’

What came to his mind was the newly signed rookie writer with an outrageous visual presence.

“And star power that no other writer possesses.”

“Sorry?”

“I think Writer Rojun would be perfect.”

It was Kang Rojun.

Later that afternoon.

The current media was blasting out a topic that had been spreading on social media and online communities.

《‘Rojun’ to work with master director Yoo Ji-heon? Buzz over script briefly shown on Vanguard YouTube channel / Photo》

《Director Yoo Ji-heon appears in ‘Vanguard’ video》

《Rojun’s next work leaked? Script spotted for about 2 seconds in ‘Vanguard’ video》

It was related to ‘Blood Hunt’, which had been briefly exposed, only for a few seconds, in a video uploaded to the ‘Vanguard’ channel. It started in the video’s comments section and quickly spread across social media and online communities.

The media loved this kind of story.

Unexpected incidents or surprises.

What’s more, the director of the exposed script was none other than master-level Director Yoo Ji-heon. With ‘Vanguard’ and Rojun already carrying strong buzz power, the addition of Director Yoo Ji-heon was like pouring gasoline on an already blazing fire.

《[Issue Pick] Is Rojun’s next work with Director Yoo Ji-heon? As a writer or an actor?》

Public reaction was also significant.

It felt several times more explosive than an official announcement. On top of that, the script hadn’t been openly revealed, it had been ambiguously shown in the video, barely visible, which made fans even more frantic.

With things like this, there was no way GN Entertainment or BG Pictures would be unaware.

Kang Rojun was no exception.

However, Manager Kim Ki-baek, who had already discussed the situation with BG Pictures, said.

“Rojun.”

With a nuance that they would wait a little.

“Mm- things are going more or less as we expected, so we’re planning to hold off until more ingredients mix together. We’ll take care of things on this end, so Rojun, just focus on your training.”

Though his tone lacked energy, Kang Rojun, who felt a strange sense of trust toward Manager Kim Ki-baek, responded simply.

“Yes, manager.”

Even if it was short, given what he had shown so far, there shouldn’t be a problem.

So, Kang Rojun once again threw himself into training. Currently, he wasn’t just practicing ‘GreenBee’, ‘Windveil’, and ‘Flying Bell’. He also had to master the event-style songs that were confirmed for the debut show-con’s cue sheet.

The next morning, the rehearsal schedule at Gocheok Dome was delivered to ‘Vanguard’.

“It starts on March 22.”

Roughly four days later. By the time the 22nd arrived, there would be only two weeks left until the debut show-con. Maybe because of that, Kang Rojun and the members were spending more time at the company than at the dorm. Around this time, BG Pictures began to move.

Director Yoo Ji-heon appeared on a YouTube variety show.

It wasn’t a pre-recorded show, it was a live broadcast.

The topic wasn’t ‘Blood Hunt’, but rather Director Yoo Ji-heon’s external role as a judge for a short film festival. Still.

“Director, you’ve seen all the articles lately, right? You saw them, didn’t you??”

As expected, ‘Blood Hunt’ was subtly mentioned as well. Director Yoo Ji-heon wasn’t flustered. No wonder, he came prepared.

“I saw them. It would be a lie to say I didn’t see them when it’s so noisy.”

“There was something shown for a few seconds on the hot ‘Vanguard’ YouTube channel recently. Was that your script??”

Yoo Ji-heon, known for his relaxed tone, answered without hesitation.

“Yes, it’s the script I’m currently working on.”

“Wow-”

“The title is ‘Blood Hunt’, and since he’s playing a role in it, Rojun-ssi is holding the script.”

“Knew it! So you cast Rojun-nim as an actor?!”

“Yes. It’s a bit early to talk about the role, but… anyway, it’s confirmed that Rojun-ssi has joined ‘Blood Hunt’.”

And Director Yoo Ji-heon didn’t stop there, he threw in one more bomb.

“And ‘Blood Hunt’ was written by Rojun-ssi.”

“Huh?? Are you saying it’s not your script, but Rojun-nim’s?”

“Yes. I fell in love with the script, and that’s how production began.”

“S-So that means…”

“That’s right, Rojun-ssi is both the writer and an actor in ‘Blood Hunt’.”

At this point, the viewers watching the live broadcast exploded in the comment section.

Later, around noon.

Manager Kim Ki-baek had just stepped out of a meeting when his phone rang.

-♬♪

Lately, his phone hadn’t had a moment of peace, so Kim Ki-baek casually checked the caller ID. It was CEO Heo Ki-tae from Culture Drawer. After scratching his chin for a moment, Kim brought the phone to his ear.

“Yes- Hello, CEO-nim.”

CEO Heo Ki-tae replied with a laugh on the other end.

“Haha, hello, manager. Do you have a moment to talk?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“Would it be possible to meet with Writer Rojun right now?”

“Right now?”

“Yes. Just for a moment. Of course, I’ll jump over to GN myself.”

Since GN Entertainment had a policy of respecting Kang Rojun’s side jobs as much as possible, Manager Kim Ki-baek nodded lightly.

“Understood. I’ll let Rojun know. Please give me a call when you arrive.”

CEO Heo Ki-tae arrived at GN Entertainment two hours later. Manager Kim Ki-baek then called out to Kang Rojun, who had been in the practice room with the members. Rojun wiped the sweat from his face with a towel and headed to the meeting room with Kim.

Manager Kim Ki-baek asked a short question.

“You haven’t heard what this is about, right?”

Rojun shook his head, clearly unaware.

“Not at all. I was a bit surprised too, that CEO Heo came in person.”

As they arrived at the meeting room, Manager Kim brought up a different topic.

“Ah- and ‘Blood Hunt’, Director Yoo Ji-heon revealed it himself. The timing worked out perfectly, and it’ll really fuel the hype leading up to the debut show-con.”

Did the director announce it himself? Rojun hadn’t had time to check because of training, so he made a mental note to look it up as soon as the meeting was over. Then he entered the meeting room.

Surprisingly, inside was just one bear. No, just CEO Heo Ki-tae sitting alone.

“Haha, writer-nim.”

He greeted Rojun warmly. After a brief exchange of greetings, Rojun took a seat, and CEO Heo, smiling, started some casual conversation, about how busy he must be lately, how much he was looking forward to the debut show-con, and some talk about ‘Like a Kaleidoscope’, among other things.

Then, CEO Heo changed the subject.

“I know you’re incredibly busy, but writer-nim, have you given any thought to your next project?”

Rojun shared what he had already planned to inform Culture Drawer of, his next project.

“Yes. I’m thinking of writing something somewhat like a historical drama.”

At that moment, CEO Heo Ki-tae’s gaze wavered slightly.