Chapter 5

Numbers Appear (1)

'Think. I have to think!'

He needed time to think without any interference.

Lee Kyuhan, who had stopped by a coffee shop near the office under the pretext of a meeting, sat with a cup of coffee in front of him, lost in thought.

Numbers appeared before his eyes.

This was not the first time.

'They appeared back then too!' While crossing a crosswalk, his shoulder had bumped into a pedestrian, causing his bag to fall and its contents to spill onto the road.

Among the scattered items, the moment he picked up the script for the movie 'Manwol,' numbers had appeared before his eyes for the first time.

-25,511.

That was the number that had appeared before his eyes at the time.

The number matched exactly with the final audience count for the movie 'Manwol.'

"Why... did I forget about it?"

Whenever he picked up a script, the final audience count would appear before his eyes.

It was certainly a shocking experience and event.

Yet, Lee Kyuhan had completely forgotten about it.

The even more shocking event of regressing to the past had buried this fact.

"Let's try it again."

Lee Kyuhan took out the script for 'Three Generations' from his bag and picked it up. At that moment, numbers appeared before his eyes as usual.

-4,582,546.

The numbers that appeared before his eyes were exactly the same as before, down to the last digit.

"Why did it change?"

Lee Kyuhan frowned.

Of course, 4.5 million viewers was not a small number. However, it was a significant difference from the final audience count of 'Speed Scandal' that Lee Kyuhan knew.

Although he couldn't remember the exact number, he recalled that it was around 8 million.

If his memory was correct, the audience count had been nearly halved.

Lee Kyuhan remained motionless, pondering the reason. However, he couldn't find a satisfactory answer and was left with a frustrated expression.

Ding.

The bell rang as Director Kang Hyungjin entered the coffee shop.

"Hello."

Only after Director Kang greeted him did Lee Kyuhan look up. Upon seeing Director Kang, Lee Kyuhan's expression turned to surprise.

"Director, why are you here so early?"

"I arrived on time."

"Huh?"

Lee Kyuhan checked his wristwatch. The meeting with Director Kang was scheduled for 2 PM.

And it was now 5 minutes before 2 PM.

'Has so much time passed already?'

Lee Kyuhan had entered the coffee shop around noon.

He thought he had only been sitting for a short while, but it had been nearly two hours. He had been so deeply engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed the time passing.

"Director, are you feeling unwell?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Your complexion doesn't look good."

Lee Kyuhan noticed that Director Kang's face was pale.

"I didn't sleep well."

"Why?"

"Well, I was worried after receiving the call."

"…?"

"The timing seemed awkward."

'Timing?'

Lee Kyuhan finally understood what he meant.

The meeting with Director Kang was scheduled for 2 PM.

Originally, he had planned to tell Director Kang that the production of 'Three Generations' was impossible.

And 2 PM was indeed an awkward time.

It was neither a good time for lunch nor dinner.

Typically, people scheduled meetings at 2 PM to save on meal expenses.

In other words, since they weren't going to sign a contract anyway, they would meet at 2 PM to save a bit of money.

Although he was a rookie director, Director Kang had a long history as an assistant director. He was well aware of the industry's dynamics and had already suspected that the director's contract would be difficult when he heard about the 2 PM meeting.

Of course, it was a baseless worry.

The situation was now completely different from the past.

Lee Kyuhan planned to sign both the script and director's contract with Kang Hyungjin, who had written the script for 'Three Generations.'

However, Kang Hyungjin, who was unaware of this, couldn't hide his anxious expression.

"Let's order a drink first…"

"Let's look at this first."

Kang Hyungjin took the script out of his bag and extended it.

"What is this?"

"I revised it again."

"You revised the script again?"

"Please read the revised version first. Then you can make a decision, okay?"

Kang Hyungjin's eyes were filled with desperation.

Although he would later become one of the leading directors in the Korean film industry, Kang Hyungjin was currently a rookie director who had failed with his debut film.

He was in a dire situation, metaphorically at the edge of a cliff.

Lee Kyuhan looked at the script on the table, which Kang Hyungjin had placed there.

The title of the script was 'Speed Family Scandal.'

'The title has changed?'

From 'Three Generations' to 'Speed Family Scandal.'

The title had changed as Kang Hyungjin revised the script.

"The title has changed."

Lee Kyuhan's eyes sparkled as he spoke, and Kang Hyungjin nodded.

"Many people commented that the title felt too much like a human drama. Is it strange?"

"No, it's better than before."

"Really?"

"I'll take a look first."

Lee Kyuhan picked up the script on the table.

At that moment, numbers appeared before his eyes.

-5,083,825.

'Changed again?'

Lee Kyuhan swallowed dryly.

The moment he picked up the revised script, numbers appeared before his eyes as if it were natural.

However, the numbers had clearly changed.

'A difference of about 500,000!'

From 4,582,546 to 5,083,825.

The numbers had increased.

And it wasn't a small difference.

There was a difference of nearly 500,000.

'If these numbers represent the audience count as I suspect... then the audience count increased by nearly 500,000 after Kang Hyungjin revised the script!'

Lee Kyuhan's eyes sparkled.

'What changed?'

He hadn't seen the revised script yet.

The only difference he knew was that the title had changed.

"Director, you did a good job."

"Huh?"

"I mean, the revision was well done."

Thanks to the revision, the audience count had increased by nearly 500,000.

This was a clear indication that the revision was well done.

So Lee Kyuhan complimented him, but Kang Hyungjin's expression didn't brighten.

Instead, it darkened even more.

"How can you say the revision was well done without even looking at the script?"

"Well, I…"

"Is it not even worth reading the revised version?"

Kang Hyungjin's voice was strained.

The emotion in his voice was a mix of anger and self-loathing.

The fact that Lee Kyuhan didn't even bother to look at the script he had revised through countless sleepless nights hurt his pride.

Of course, Kang Hyungjin was currently misunderstanding the situation.

"Director."

"Go on."

"Of course, I will read the revised version. Are you busy today?"

"Why do you ask that suddenly?"

"I think it will take some time to review the revised version here."

"Here?"

"Why not at the office?"

"I'm too curious to see how it changed."

He wasn't lying.

'What changed to increase the audience by 500,000?'

He was extremely curious about how the script had changed after Kang Hyungjin's revision.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course, I'm serious."

Only after hearing this answer did Kang Hyungjin's expression brighten slightly.

He realized that Lee Kyuhan was genuinely going to review the revised version.

And he confirmed that Lee Kyuhan was interested in 'Three Generations.'

"You haven't answered my question yet."

"What question?"

"Whether you're busy today."

"I'm not busy. I have plenty of time."

"Then let's order a drink first."

"Drink?"

Lee Kyuhan added.

"I think it will take some time, no, a lot of time, to read the script."

100 Million Audience Producer