Chapter 8

Chapter 10

The reason for Lee Gwan's early departure from work was not to watch a zombie movie. It was because, while looking at the mediocre works listed on the market, he realized there was no need to waste any more time.

"I already know the hits!" It wasn't just 'Over Speed Scandal.' Since Lee Gwan had returned to the past, he had a rough idea of which works would be successful over the next ten years. This would be a tremendous weapon for the producer Lee Gwan.

"Let's try to remember as much as possible!" Lee Gwan picked up a pen.

- The Tracker

- I Am the Real King

- The Suspicious Woman

- Train to Busan

Lee Gwan began to write down the titles of the hits he could remember, one by one, in his notebook.

One week. This was the time Lee Gwan had given Ahn Yuchun. Ahn Yuchun kept the time, or rather, completed the revision in just six days.

"Why did you finish so quickly?"

"This PD told me to write without putting in too much effort, didn't he?"

Ahn Yuchun's confident expression showed his self-assurance. Lee Gwan, looking at the revised script with hopeful eyes, asked:

"How was the script?"

"It was interesting."

"Was it definitely interesting?"

"The key to its success will be how well the comedy works."

Lee Gwan nodded. Ahn Yuchun had hit the nail on the head.

"Are you not going to read it?"

"I will. But I have something to do first."

"What is it?"

"Script evaluation!"

"Script evaluation? You're going to evaluate it without reading it?"

"There is such a thing."

He couldn't explain further. He would just be treated as a lunatic.

"Try to be quiet for a moment."

With a reverent heart, Lee Gwan reached out to the revised script. As he lifted the script, a new number appeared before his eyes.

- 6,212,349.

'It increased!'

Lee Gwan swallowed hard. It wasn't just an increase. 5,221,004?flAi 6,212,349^.

It had changed.

'About a million difference!'

Ahn Yuchun had completed the revision in less than a week, and the expected audience for the revised script had increased by nearly a million compared to before.

"Could this be the evaluation?"

Ahn Yuchun asked, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"Yes, the evaluation is done."

"What was the result?"

"It's good, you did well."

Lee Gwan praised him. The revision had increased the expected audience by nearly a million in a short time, so Ahn Yuchun's work was excellent. Despite Lee Gwan's generous praise, Ahn Yuchun's expression didn't brighten.

"Are you teasing me?"

"No, I'm not."

"At least you should evaluate it after reading the revised script, right?"

Ahn Yuchun's slightly raised voice made Lee Gwan feel guilty.

Ahn Yuchun didn't know about Lee Gwan's secret (?). It was a situation where he could easily feel bad.

"Alright, I'll read it properly now."

Lee Gwan opened the revised script and began to read carefully. After about an hour, he nodded slightly.

'You did a good job!'

It wasn't for nothing that the expected audience had increased by a million. Ahn Yuchun's revised script was much better than the director's original.

Especially, the dialogue was much improved. It felt vivid, as if it had been written specifically for Cha Tae-hoon and Park Bo-young.

And one more thing.

Ahn Yuchun's unique, unexpected sense of comedy had been well integrated.

Thud.

Lee Gwan finished reading the last page of the revised script and looked up.

Perhaps out of curiosity for the evaluation, Ahn Yuchun, who had been tense, asked cautiously:

"Should I rewrite it?"

"Do you think you can write it better if you rewrite it?"

"If you give me a little more time..."

Lee Gwan cut him off mid-sentence, and Ahn Yuchun's expression stiffened.

"I can really write it better."

"It's perfect."

"Really?"

"It's as perfect as it can be. And I have one piece of advice for you."

"Please tell me."

Ahn Yuchun changed his posture, and Lee Gwan spoke.

"You need to write without putting in too much effort. In other words, you need to maximize your strengths."

"What are my strengths?"

Lee Gwan smiled wryly at Ahn Yuchun's question.

When meeting writers, he often received this question. The side effect of a writer not knowing their strengths was often losing direction.

In simple terms, it was like climbing the wrong mountain instead of the one they intended to climb.

Climbing the wrong mountain and thinking, "Is this the mountain I wanted to climb?" and then coming down, only to repeat the process, while time passes.

Eventually, the writer would fall into self-loathing. And countless writers would lose their strengths and sadly seek other paths.

That's why a producer was important.

Identifying the writer's strengths and maximizing them.

This was one of the roles of a producer. And Lee Gwan already knew how to maximize Ahn Yuchun's strengths as a writer.

"Bring out the characters."

"The characters?"

"Are you strong in comedy?"

"I don't think so?"

"Upon reflection, it does seem that way."

Ahn Yuchun answered uncertainly.

At that moment, Lee Gwan asked again:

"Do you know why I keep meeting you?"

"Because you recognized my potential?"

Perhaps because he admitted it so readily, Ahn Yuchun showed a flustered expression. Lee Gwan then suggested:

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat ribs."

"Ribs?"

"Why, don't you like them?"

"I don't dislike them. No, I like them."

Ahn Yuchun's expression brightened at the suggestion to eat ribs.

'He's so simple!'

Lee Gwan chuckled at his reaction.

This was Ahn Yuchun's strength as a writer.

"What do you want to eat?"

At that moment, Ahn Yuchun asked, his eyes shining.

"Didn't you hear? I said let's go eat ribs."

"Of course I heard."

"Then?"

"There are many types of ribs, right? Beef ribs, pork ribs, chicken ribs, lamb ribs, etc. I'm curious which one you want to eat. Personally, I prefer beef..."

"Let's eat pork ribs."

"Really? Okay."

"Are you disappointed?"

"No, pork ribs are my favorite."

'Liar!'

Lee Gwan chuckled again.

Ahn Yuchun wasn't good at hiding his expressions.

His disappointment was clear when he heard they would eat pork ribs instead of beef ribs. Lee Gwan wanted to buy him as much beef as he wanted, but the problem was his finances.

'If I eat as much beef as I want and pay with the company card...'

Park Tae-hyuk might foam at the mouth and collapse, or even take away the company card.

'I need to become independent soon!'

A smile spread across Lee Gwan's lips as he thought about setting up his own production company sooner.

'The script work is done!'

The script work for 'Over Speed Scandal' was now complete.

One obstacle had been overcome amidst many challenges before the movie's release.

Feeling good about it, Lee Gwan shouted:

"Let's eat until we're full today!"

Sizzle.

The pork ribs sizzled on the grill.

As the chopsticks slowed down, Lee Gwan asked:

"Have you had enough?"

"Yes, I've eaten enough to not think about pork ribs for a month."

"Then let's finish the story now?"

"What story?"

Lee Gwan shook his head at Ahn Yuchun's puzzled look.

The revision Lee Gwan had entrusted to Ahn Yuchun had, in his judgment, produced the best possible result. The script for 'Over Speed Scandal' no longer needed any further revisions.

However, the reason Lee Gwan was having pork ribs and soju with Ahn Yuchun was for the next project.

"Let's work on a project together."

"What project?"

"You said you want to debut quickly, right?"

"Have you decided?"

"What decision?"

"Have you decided to produce my script?"

Every time Lee Gwan met Ahn Yuchun, he would bring up movie ideas. But so far, they were just ideas.

A script he had decided to write someday.

That's why the only script Lee Gwan had personally read by Ahn Yuchun was:

'The Very Minor Incident That Happened That Night.'

Of course, Ahn Yuchun was mistaken.

Lee Gwan had no intention of producing 'The Very Minor Incident That Happened That Night' as a movie. It would be a path to ruin.

"Let's do a new one."

"A new one? Why?"

"There are big problems with the script you wrote."

100 Million Audience Producer