Chapter 36

In July, the scorching summer finally arrived. Under Lee Jung-hee's guidance and planning, with the successive release of "The Swimming Pool Horror Video" and "The Art Room Horror Incident," *The Curse* became a wave sweeping across the internet over the past month.

"One of my friends suddenly drowned in a swimming pool. She was a great swimmer, and we all suspected there was something wrong with the pool. Later, we found out that someone had indeed drowned there before..." The employees of TUBE Entertainment continued to spread topics that were both stimulating and interesting to the public alongside the video releases.

"Our school's art room is on the first floor, in an old and dilapidated room. It's usually very dark, and when you walk down the corridor in summer, it feels chilly. Many people at our school know that it's haunted and that someone died there. No one dares to go through there alone, let alone paint in it..."

Furthermore, TUBE Entertainment deliberately took pictures of the village where Eun-ju allegedly spent her childhood. The picture showed the entire village abandoned, with no signs of life, and even the trees were withered in the summer.

Thus, as the Eun-ju incident unfolded, *The Curse* not only became a movie but also a focal point for various ghost stories and strange events. The website's click-through rate astonishingly surpassed 50 million, and in recent days, the daily click-through rate has approached one million.

Now, only the last video remains. Once this most shocking and twist-filled video is released, it will mark the beginning of the pre-sale for *The Curse*.

This time, due to the success of the viral marketing campaign, TUBE Entertainment has canceled the media and audience preview screenings and will go directly to pre-sale. Moreover, the premiere date for *The Curse* has been moved up by half a month to July 14.

However, for Lee Jung-hee, the 14th is still early. On the 4th, he began his schedule for *Endless Love*.

As a key project for KBS this year, especially after KBS's urban fashion dramas were thoroughly defeated by MBC in the first half, KBS has put in a lot of effort and resources. On the morning of the 4th, a significant press conference was held for *Endless Love*.

However, Lee Jung-hee did not attend, as he did not want to draw attention to himself and thus found an excuse to decline. It wasn't until the afternoon, when the crew was about to set off for Gangwon Province to start filming, that he appeared.

"Brother, you're here!" Kim Hyung-jeong, who had attended the press conference in the morning, saw him and ran up with a smile.

Lee Jung-hee, however, did not give him a good face, scolding him, "Call me Writer Lee!" Seeing his expression, he added more gently, "Even if everyone else knows, you should still call me that, because we are working, and in work, there are only professional relationships, understand?"

"Tch, such a pretense!" Kim Tae-hee, who was trailing behind, pouted and shot a mocking glance at Kim Hyung-jeong, "Look, this is the face of the guy you admire the most!"

However, she almost got angry with Kim Hyung-jeong, as he stared at her with disdain and sneered, "What a stupid woman...!"

If it weren't for seeing Park Dong-jeom and Yoon Seok-ho approaching, she would have strangled the boy. And Lee Jung-hee, Kim Hyung-jeong's behavior, was all influenced by him.

"You little brat, I thought you weren't coming!" Park Dong-jeom's relationship with Lee Jung-hee was getting better, and he patted his shoulder with a smile, "Do you know, our deputy president is a bit unhappy today!"

"I'm just a writer, what difference does it make whether I come or not!" Lee Jung-hee smiled and then looked at Yoon Seok-ho, who clearly had no smile, and joked, "I'm glad I didn't come, otherwise, I would be as stressed as Director Yoon now!"

This made Yoon Seok-ho laugh, but there was a hint of bitterness in his smile. To be honest, the more KBS emphasized the project, the more pressure he felt. Moreover, his crew, from the director to the screenwriter Lee Jung-hee, to the lead actors Song Seung-hyun and Son Ye-jin, had no big names.

Thinking about it, since the beginning of the year, MBC had firmly held the ratings for urban fashion dramas with shows like *Beautiful Lie*, *Bad Friends*, and *Falling in Love with a News Anchor*.

In contrast, KBS's *Heavenly Match*, *Sad Temptation*, and *Love Like an Accidental Marriage* had all performed poorly, which would put KBS at a disadvantage in the upcoming competition with MBC.

"Director Yoon!" After the joke, Lee Jung-hee looked at Yoon Seok-ho seriously, "I believe in your talent, ability, and experience. I also ask you to trust me once, just as you trust my learning ability. Together, we will create a work that will surprise everyone and become a classic..."

Actually, not only was Yoon Seok-ho under pressure, but Lee Jung-hee was also under significant pressure. Therefore, these words were not only to encourage Yoon Seok-ho but also to motivate himself.

Yoon Seok-ho, of course, did not know this, but seeing Lee Jung-hee's confident demeanor, he was also influenced. He thought that if he worked in such a state, it would be a good thing.

He relaxed a bit, with a slightly forced smile, "Of course, I have never doubted Writer Lee's ability..."

Regardless of how true these words were, Park Dong-jeom looked at Lee Jung-hee approvingly, feeling relieved. Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, he clapped his hands and said loudly, "Alright, let's prepare and set off!"

Then, as the crew staff quickly got into a bustling state, he put his arm around Lee Jung-hee's shoulder and whispered, "Jung-hee, thank you just now," and when Lee Jung-hee shook his head with a smile, he looked at him earnestly and said again, "We hit it off from the start, and I'm not afraid to tell you that the reason Director Yoon is so stressed is that the deputy president came today and gave us an order: only victory, no defeat...!"

With this pressure, the crew of *Endless Love* set off for Gangwon Province on the afternoon of the 4th. After a tense preparation, the next day, the 5th, was the official start of filming.

Early in the morning, just after eight o'clock, everyone, including the two lead actors Song Seung-hyun and Son Ye-jin, who had no scenes yet, arrived from Seoul. After a simple and solemn ceremony, the first scene, the baby swap at the Yangyang Women and Children's Hospital, began filming.

Lee Jung-hee had been through filming before, so he was not nervous or overly excited. Instead, he carefully observed the scene.

The props were ready, the costumes were fine, and the cameraman, lighting technician, and sound engineer all said "OK." However, before shooting, there was a walk-through and a simple rehearsal to prevent mistakes and save film.

"Director Yoon!" Just as the rehearsal ended and Yoon Seok-ho was about to start filming, Lee Jung-hee gently called out to him.

Yoon Seok-ho was slightly taken aback, but he now valued Lee Jung-hee even more, so he did not show any irritation at the interruption. Instead, he asked, "Writer Lee, do you have any suggestions?"

"Actually, it's not obvious from the storyboard, but after the rehearsal, I had some ideas!" He then explained his suggestions in detail.

In the original plot, the beginning had many inconsistencies. For example, after young Jun-hee removed the two nameplates from the incubator, the nurse casually hung them back and left. Also, Jun-hee's father said he would take a photo, but later he returned with his son, which was illogical.

Lee Jung-hee noticed this and, seeing that Yoon Seok-ho still intended to "get away with it," had to bring it up.

First, young Jun-hee should remove the nameplates, pick them up, and randomly hang one back. This way, the nurse would see him holding a randomly hung nameplate.

Second, Jun-hee's father would still take a photo, but as a father, once he took the photo, he would notice the nameplates were wrong. He would then move the nameplates from the side facing the window to the side, making it less visible and easy to overlook.

This would make the plot more logically sound, otherwise, it would be criticized from the start, reducing the story's appeal.

As long as it made sense, Yoon Seok-ho could accept it, and Park Dong-jeom clapped in approval, "This will make the audience feel more regret and tension, making it more exciting!"

Lee Jung-hee just smiled, seeing that they had no objections, and discussed with his writing team the additional scene of Jun-hee's father taking a photo and the lines he would say.

Unlike movies, where the screenwriter is a supporting role and all rights to script revisions and shooting styles belong to the director and producer, in TV dramas, the screenwriter is the soul. In Korea, directors are merely hardworking executors.

Moreover, TV dramas do not have just one screenwriter. For *Endless Love*, besides the head screenwriter Lee Jung-hee, there were five assistant screenwriters.

They each had their own tasks, such as designing the story outline, setting and revising the scene outlines, developing character backgrounds, and writing dialogues.

In a sense, they determined almost everything about the drama, which is why the saying "Movies are the director's stage, TV dramas belong to the screenwriter" exists.

Soon, they reached an agreement. Although it seemed like a significant change, it was actually simple, just a change in props, an additional shot, and two lines of dialogue.

Once again, everything was ready, and the atmosphere had changed due to the previous discussion, making Yoon Seok-ho even more focused.

"Very good, pass!" Just before noon, when the camera focused on the actor playing Jun-hee's father, Jung Dong-hwan, taking a photo and happily turning to leave with young Jun-hee, Yoon Seok-ho called out excitedly.

Perhaps not just him, but everyone on set was holding their breath. When he called out, the completion of this shot was met with excited applause and beaming smiles from all the staff. After all, this was the first scene, and its significance was extraordinary.

"Great job!" Park Dong-jeom patted Yoon Seok-ho's shoulder and gave Lee Jung-hee a bear hug, patting his back hard.

After he let go, Lee Jung-hee looked at Yoon Seok-ho, who finally relaxed and stood up from his director's chair, and smiled, "Not bad, right?"

Yoon Seok-ho also smiled, shook his hand tightly, and his eyes sparkled, "Yes, really not bad!"

They exchanged a glance with Park Dong-jeom and both laughed out loud, their laughter filled with relief and excitement...!

PS: Request for recommendations and support. Also, please consider adding to your favorites if you enjoy it!