Chapter 10 – Vending Machine Coffee Milk.

Deciding to re-edit the Monday episode from the dog's perspective, Yun Hayan immediately prepared to write the script.

She asked Dongsu,

“What kind of tone should we use for the dog's lines?”

“Hmm... PD Park, what breed was the dog in the recording?”

“It was a poodle. Four years old and female.”

“Four years old, that would be...”

As Dongsu was about to search on his smartphone, Gaon answered,

“Thank you.”

“Stop whining.”

After calming Gaon down, he said to Yun Hayan,

“How about a sophisticated lady in her thirties?”

“That's an interesting concept. Got it. The recording video...”

At that moment, Park Ji-hye handed her a USB and said,

“Here you go, writer!”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome!”

Dongsu said to Park Ji-hye,

“PD Park, get a female voice actor!”

“Yes!”

“Once the voice actor is secured, call Alice Entertainment right away! If Gang Se-na is unavailable, report back to me immediately! Got it?”

“Understood!”

Dongsu stood up, put on his jacket, and said,

“Then, before I go to the editing room...”

“...I'll go get the famous Namdaemun tteokbokki and some snacks.”

Park Ji-hye also stood up and said,

“PD Gang! I'll go too!”

“Just go. Make the call first!”

“...Yes!”

Before leaving, Dongsu asked Yun Hayan,

“Writer, do you need anything?”

“A high-caffeine, sugar-free coffee!”

“Haha, got it.”

Dongsu smiled and left the meeting room. Yun Hayan then said to Park Ji-hye,

“PD Park, casting is usually my job...”

“No, no! It's my job. You focus on the script!”

“Haha, thank you.”

Park Ji-hye immediately called the Voice Actors Association and asked if they could hire a female voice actor for the next day, but...

“Then...”

“We need the voice actor by Saturday at the latest for the Monday broadcast!”

It didn't start well.

Park Ji-hye asked again to get someone as soon as possible and ended the call.

Then, Yun Hayan said,

“I posted a job listing on a recruitment site just in case!”

“Ah! Thank you!”

The two smiled at each other.

Park Ji-hye then found the number for Alice Entertainment's Hwang Se-woo team leader, who was in charge of the third acting team.

She had met PD Song Min-ji once.

‘He didn’t seem like a bad person...’

When she called,

A calm voice answered.

It was Hwang Se-woo.

“Hello, this is SBC PD Park Ji-hye.”

“Yes, it’s been a while!”

“Actually, we have additional filming with actor Gang Se-na scheduled.”

His voice sounded hesitant.

“It’s because we’re short on footage. So...”

Hwang Se-woo sounded doubtful.

Park Ji-hye decided to be honest.

“Actually, I’m revising the Monday episode. So...”

But...

She didn’t get the answer she wanted.

“Is there any way it can be done? Even for two days, or one day...”

“...Yes, please.”

After the call ended, Yun Hayan asked,

“Did Alice Entertainment say no?”

“They said they’ll check her schedule for next week and get back to us.”

“Hmm...”

Yun Hayan’s expression darkened.

The ratings were terrible, and the show was nearing its end.

It was unlikely they would free up her schedule after she had already completed the agreed-upon filming.

‘They probably won’t call back...’

At that moment, Park Ji-hye, who had been thinking seriously, stood up.

“Writer, I’ll be back after a quick call.”

“Ah, okay.”

Yun Hayan watched Park Ji-hye leave with a worried look.

‘For additional filming with actor Gang Se-na, we need the CP... No, a director-level person to step in...’

She thought she would talk to Dongsu when he came back.

= = = = = = =

Dongsu packed the famous Namdaemun tteokbokki and rushed to the convenience store, filling his basket with sweet and tangy snacks.

As he was doing this, PD Park Dae-chul entered the store.

He saw Dongsu and asked curiously,

“Dongsu, what are you doing?”

“Picking snacks for our team.”

“Why is the main doing it? What’s the junior doing? Did the junior also quit?”

“What are you talking about? Our junior is busy, so I’m doing it.”

Park Dae-chul smiled at him.

“Wow, what a great main. Thinking of the junior.”

“Stop smiling creepily and do your business.”

Dongsu walked past Park Dae-chul to the checkout.

Then, he stopped and turned to Dae-chul,

“Thanks.”

“For what?”

“For the writer. Thanks to you, I found a good writer.”

“Oh! Really? Who?”

“Writer Yun Hayan.”

“Really? Writer Hayan accepted?”

“Yes.”

“Wow! That’s great! Writer Hayan is really talented!”

“Yeah, I can see that. Thanks to you. Thanks!”

“If you’re grateful, take this too...”

Park Dae-chul tried to sneak a snack into Dongsu’s basket, but Dongsu smiled and said,

“Two!”

“Of course! PD Gang! Wow! You’re generous! Generous!”

Park Dae-chul asked Dongsu, who was paying,

“When is Writer Hayan starting? From Monday?”

“She started today. She’s writing the script in the meeting room right now.”

Park Dae-chul looked surprised.

“Didn’t you have a meeting with Writer Hayan today?”

“Yes.”

“Man, even if it’s urgent...”

“It’s really urgent...”

“Don’t push Writer Hayan too hard.”

“Don’t push Writer Im or Writer Hayan too hard!”

“Hey, who’s pushing who...”

Dongsu handed two bags of snacks to the grumbling Park Dae-chul and said,

“Anyway, good luck!”

“...Yeah, you too.”

Dongsu quickly headed to the meeting room.

And...

“Snacks are here!”

Writer Hayan greeted Dongsu with a bright smile.

“Thank you, PD Gang.”

“The high-caffeine, sugar-free Americano you asked for!”

“Thank you!”

Dongsu glanced at the chair where Park Ji-hye had been sitting and asked,

“Where’s PD Park?”

“It seems the talks with Alice Entertainment aren’t going well. She said she’d be back after a call.”

“Is that so?”

Writer Hayan looked apologetic.

“I should be the one doing the casting...”

“No, no. You focus on the script!”

“Got it. But for additional filming with actor Gang Se-na, the CP should step in. Alice Entertainment isn’t what it used to be, but they’re still...”

Dongsu understood what Yun Hayan was trying to say.

He thought for a moment and then...

“I understand! I’ll go talk to PD Park!”

“Okay!”

Dongsu left the meeting room and looked around.

‘Where could she be calling from?’

‘...?’

‘Is this even possible?’

He thought it was a useful feature.

But...

‘Didn’t the junior fail to hack the data? They said he had strong mental fortitude...’

‘Was it to the decimal point...’

Anyway, he was glad they didn’t have to play hide and seek.

Dongsu walked to the elevator, thinking,

‘Why is she calling from the rooftop?’

He took the elevator to the rooftop.

It was cold, so few people came up here.

Smokers usually went to the sky garden on the fourth floor instead of the rooftop.

Dongsu mixed black coffee and milk from the vending machine in the rooftop garden to the golden ratio.

‘Coffee milk, complete!’

‘Wait a bit. I’ll drink it with the junior.’

Dongsu smiled and went in.

He found Park Ji-hye on the phone.

Her voice was too low to hear.

‘Who is she talking to?’

At that moment, Park Ji-hye ended the call and turned around.

She looked different from her usual worried and innocent self, with a cold gaze.

Feeling a strange vibe,

“PD Gang?”

Park Ji-hye called out to Dongsu, her eyes wide with surprise.

She looked very flustered.

She stammered,

“W-Why are you here...”

Dongsu handed her a paper cup.

“Man, aren’t you cold? Your mouth must be dry from talking. Drink this.”

“A... Thank you.”

She took the cup hesitantly.

After taking a sip and looking at Dongsu, she gasped.

Her reaction was similar to when she ate sundae stew yesterday.

Dongsu asked her,

“Is this your first time trying coffee milk?”

“Is there coffee milk in vending machines?”

“What? Didn’t PD Song or the junior make it for you?”

“Make it?”

Seeing her surprised expression, Dongsu said,

“Our junior wasted his company life.”

“...”

A dejected Park Ji-hye.

Dongsu found her cute, like a niece, but also thought she might cry if he teased her more.

“Junior, I’m kidding. Kidding.”

“Huh?”

“You might not know. You don’t drink vending machine coffee much these days. It’s not good for you! Haha, only old guys like me drink it. You don’t need to know! Anyway...”

“...Still, tell me.”

“Huh?”

“How to make coffee milk.”

She looked very serious...

Dongsu looked at her and smiled,

“Why so serious?”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing. Give me your cup.”

“Ah, okay...”

Dongsu took her paper cup, mixed the coffee milk from both cups, and said,

“Half vending machine coffee! Half vending machine milk! Half and half! Ta-da! Complete!”

He handed the cup back to her.

“Ah...!”

With wide eyes like a rabbit, Dongsu said to her,

“Making coffee milk is easy, right? Next time, you make it! OK?”

“Okay!”

At that moment, a strong wind blew.

Dongsu shivered and said,

“Junior, it’s cold. Let’s go back.”

“Ah, okay!”

As they walked, Dongsu asked Park Ji-hye,

“What did the Voice Actors Association say?”

“They said they’ll do their best, but it might take time. We might need to find another way.”

Dongsu thought about asking other teams for help and said,

“Got it. I’ll take care of that. And what about Alice Entertainment?”

“It seems it will be handled well.”

‘Handled?’

Dongsu was a bit puzzled by her word choice.

But he didn’t think much of it and asked,

“Writer Yun said it wasn’t going well?”

Park Ji-hye smiled softly and said,

“I think it will work out somehow.”

“...That’s good. Still, don’t let your guard down. You need to keep pushing the agency. Got it?”

“Yes, PD Gang.”

“And...”

“...?”

“Just call me senior. It’s awkward to keep calling me PD Gang, PD Gang...”

She stopped walking and looked at him intently.

Then, as he entered the building, she called out,

“Yes!”

Dongsu looked at her and said,

“Good spirit! Let’s go eat tteokbokki and cheer up!”

“Yes!”

‘Gaon, are you excited?’

‘If not, never mind.’

Dongsu smiled and thought about what he needed to do next.

‘I need to ask other production teams for voice actor support. Was the main of ‘TV Animal Farm’ PD Shin?’