Chapter 64

Villain Only 064

The Lady of the Prince (1)

The cable TV station promised to invest an additional 200 billion won in the production.

Thus, Jang Seung-won secured a total of 800 billion won in investment funds.

NetPrime will not receive any share of the broadcasting or other revenues; they will only take the right to air the drama on their own OTT platform.

All profits will be split between the cable TV station and Professor Lee Sejong according to the agreed amount.

The drama department head praised the script to the skies.

“I only read the first part, but I had a strong feeling. This will definitely succeed. With the genius PD Jang Seung-won and the star writer Kim Sang-hee, and now the addition of the talented new actor Jeong Seo-hoon, it can't fail. Really.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Head.”

“This time, it’s a freelance directing contract, but how about joining us officially after the drama ends?”

“Oh, I would be happy to. Thank you.”

“This time, the production is being handled by PD Jang from another place, so it has to be a freelance contract, but I’ll have the contract prepared in advance. I’ll ensure the best treatment.”

After exchanging pleasantries with a smile, the drama department head cleared his throat and asked.

“But who is this individual investor…? I’ve never heard of this name in the industry. Not even in the film industry.”

“Ah, this person has no connection to dramas but is an acquaintance of actor Jeong Seo-hoon. They decided to invest personally to help out.”

“To help out, 300 billion won? They must be incredibly wealthy.”

“It seems they have a lot of money. No, they do.”

The head whistled in amazement and continued.

“It’s a groundbreaking situation. I’ve never seen a drama produced with this kind of investment. Not even in films.”

“It’s possible for someone to invest a large sum out of personal interest or favor. It shows how much the media market in our country has grown, doesn’t it?”

“Good, good. Let’s soak up all that good energy and make this drama a huge success. Hahaha!”

The head was in high spirits.

He had recently had a major hit with an illegal drama, and now the writer of that drama was back with another star PD and a huge investor.

How could he not be in a good mood?

***

Kim Sang-hee looked up at the familiar broadcasting station building with a heavy heart.

“After all this, I’m back here… I thought I could break free this time.”

It’s not that she dislikes this cable TV station.

She just wanted to try a change of scenery after working on several projects here.

It was getting tiresome to only go in and out of the same studios, waiting rooms, and meeting rooms every day.

“I wanted to do a historical drama at KBC. It wasn’t a waste of time. I’ll probably never look at that genre again.”

“Writer Kim, you’re here?”

At the sound of a calm voice from behind, Kim Sang-hee stiffened for a moment before turning around with a nonchalant expression.

“Oh, PD Song. You’re here?”

“Yeah. I saw you from far away and recognized your back. We must be soulmates. I just knew it was you.”

“Why do you make me feel so uncomfortable right away?”

“Huh? No, why would I make you feel uncomfortable? I heard the script is great. Congratulations.”

“You’re making me feel uncomfortable right now.”

“Uncomfortable? I respect Writer Kim’s decision. You must have felt uncertain about a historical drama since I have no experience with it. If I had known the next project was a historical drama, I wouldn’t have pushed so hard.”

It was hard to tell if Song Jeong-woo was pouting or not, but his expression was soft and hard to read.

“Historical dramas aren’t my strong suit. I understand that Writer Kim had no choice. Artists are all like that. I would have done the same.”

“You keep saying that, and it really makes me feel more uncomfortable. I’ll just go to another station.”

“Why another station? I’m here. Just think of it as coming to your own home and work comfortably. Isn’t this your home, Writer Kim? Why would you want to go to someone else’s house when you have your own?”

“Alright, I’m sorry. My next project isn’t a historical drama, so I’ll come back to you, PD Song. Okay?”

“Really?”

Only then did Song Jeong-woo smile widely, looking delighted.

Seeing his lips curled up to his ears, Kim Sang-hee sighed softly.

At that moment, Jang Seung-won spotted the two and approached them happily.

“Writer, you’re here. Oh, PD Song Jeong-woo is with you too? Ah, I remember, you two were a soulmate duo, right?”

If a third party had been present, they would have seen a faint smile of victory on Jang Seung-won’s lips.

Whether Song Jeong-woo saw it or not, he calmly said to Jang Seung-won.

“PD Jang, about our Writer Kim…”

“Yeah?”

“Never give her soju. She hates it because it tastes like hangover.”

A somewhat melancholic expression spread across Song Jeong-woo’s face like music.

“Sometimes the script is late, so don’t nag her too much. When that happens, just bring her three cold iced teas with lots of syrup and sugar. Don’t be too surprised if she hits a triple shot.”

“PD Song, please.”

“Also, she’s very sensitive about a 30% viewership rating. Even as a joke, don’t say that 20% is enough. She might not show it, but she’ll be very disappointed.”

“Are you going to keep this up? I’ll leave if you do.”

“Sometimes she disappears without a word during dinner, completely drunk. Don’t worry too much. She’s probably inspired and writing somewhere in a corner with her phone. Lastly…”

“PD Jang, let’s just go. Why are you embarrassing me like this?”

Kim Sang-hee grumbled and dragged Jang Seung-won away.

As he was pulled away, Jang Seung-won kept looking back at the melancholic Song Jeong-woo and asked.

“By the way, is PD Song covering that bizarre movie again?”

“At least he didn’t play music this time. Last time, he even played music on his phone, and I really lost it. Oh, dear.”

“If he had played music, I would have known right away. Without the music, I was a bit unsure.”

Meanwhile, Song Jeong-woo, who was left behind, muttered to himself.

“Why isn’t the music playing? Why is the volume at the lowest? This is a disaster, a disaster.”

Song Jeong-woo, who was blaming his innocent smartphone, was approached by Jung Su-yeon, who had been watching from a distance.

“PD?”

“Oh, Su-yeon. So, Seohoon seems to be happy working under PD Jang these days?”

“No way. He’s been sighing a lot at home lately. He must be missing your charisma.”

“Is that so? I do have some charisma, don’t I?”

Song Jeong-woo, who had been smiling widely, soon turned serious.

“I’m thinking of challenging a historical drama for my next project.”

“What? A historical drama?”

“Reversion to the mean, they say. I’ve never done a historical drama, but why not? Who knows, maybe I’ll discover another directing talent in me.”

“······I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Hey, if you know of a good historical drama script, bring it to me once.”

Cable TV is peaceful as always.

***

KBC Broadcasting Station, Drama Center.

[Head] Come to the chicken galbi place.

After reading the head’s message, Yang Joon-gyu, the director, sighed with a sour face.

A subordinate nearby asked.

“What’s wrong, Director? Your expression suddenly turned bad.”

“The head wants me to come to the chicken galbi place.”

“Oh, my. You must be suffering.”

“I am.”

Words of sympathy came from all around.

When the head is in a bad mood, especially after being reprimanded by the upper management, he always goes to the chicken galbi place.

Yang Joon-gyu quickly wrapped up his work, clocked out, and headed to the chicken galbi place.

The head, who had booked a private room, was already devouring five servings of chicken galbi.

“Hey, you’re here? Eat some. It’s just cooked and it’s really tender.”

“No, thank you. Please enjoy.”

“I ordered five servings so we could eat together. Hurry up and eat.”

“Yes.”

He picked up his chopsticks, but his appetite was gone.

Yang Joon-gyu watched the head’s chopsticks mercilessly slaughter the stir-fried chicken galbi and vegetables.

“Did you get a lot of criticism?”

“Damn. As soon as I heard about the CV Cable production, I was called in and reprimanded.”

“Really? They didn’t kick you out, did they? In this day and age?”

“······.”

“I’ll keep quiet, Head.”

Seeing the head’s expression turn grim, Yang Joon-gyu quickly shut his mouth.

‘The head has every right to be this angry…’

“This has to be stopped. I emphasized that it’s a historical drama but a surefire success, and all he could talk about was the production budget, the production budget! He treated it like spicy soup ingredients to be chopped up, divided, and stored in his freezer.”

‘If he had just treated it like a piece of meat, it would have been fine…’

Of course, his mouth and his inner thoughts were separate.

“Head, you’re still alive. You could debut as a scriptwriter. It’s rolling off your tongue.”

“Standing in front of a big fish, wondering which needle to put in its mouth, you’re delusional, you fool. I feel so dirty, really.”

“I understand.”

“Yang Director, do I have to be reprimanded at this age and in this position? My shins creak every time I walk, damn it.”

“Why did they do that? If the production budget was the issue, we could have gone for a joint production with NetPrime.”

Because of the way Kim Sang-hee’s script was treated like a fish already caught, she ended up going back to cable TV.

And this time, it was a joint investment with NetPrime.

KBC could have secured the same deal.

“It’s PD Oh Ji-eun from the variety department.”

“PD Oh Ji-eun?”

Unfamiliar with the name, Yang Joon-gyu quickly searched his memory, and a light bulb went off.

“Oh, I remember. She was a pretty new PD, right? Did she debut last year? Why is she involved?”

“She’s the vice president’s niece.”

“What does that have to do with the failed negotiation?”

“The variety department was preparing a new, large-scale program. They were trying to push it through, so they opposed this project so strongly.”

“I don’t get it. If they said they had no money, why did they offer 500 billion won for a 30-episode drama?”

“Kim Sang-hee wouldn’t have accepted a 30-episode drama, so it was a bluff. They probably intended to settle for a 24-episode drama with 400 billion won.”

“It’s just typical internal politics. I thought it was something else.”

“Try being reprimanded. Then see if you still think it’s nothing.”

Yang Joon-gyu, feeling a bit more relaxed, poured beer while grumbling.

“What can we do? The vice president’s greed for a big and small cake led to the big cake running away. It’s not our fault, and the cake is already gone, so let’s forget about it, Head.”

“The project might succeed. It seems like it will.”

“I’m not wishing for its failure, but what good would it do us if it succeeds? Of course, I’m cheering for Seung-won, but…”

“Well, if it succeeds, the vice president’s face will be tarnished, right? If it fails, people will say, ‘The vice president has good foresight, but investing a large sum in a historical drama almost led to disaster,’ and the atmosphere will change.”

“You’re right. I’ll start praying every night from today. For the project to definitely surpass 30%.”

“Somehow, it feels like it will. The Kim Sang-hee and Jeong Seo-hoon combination hit 29.9% in the last illegal drama. Jeong Seo-hoon’s fan base has grown significantly, so the initial support this time won’t be a joke.”

“Come on, how big can a fan base be after just a few months?”

“My daughter is a ‘Vilapper.’ She’s so into it that she’s even started following him, despite never being a fan before. It’s not a good sign.”

Unfamiliar with the term, Yang Joon-gyu tilted his head and asked.

“What’s a ‘Vilapper’?”

“It’s what Jeong Seo-hoon’s fans call themselves. The name is ‘Vilab.’”

“What does ‘Vilab’ mean?”

“It’s ‘Vil’ from ‘Villain’ and ‘Lab’ from ‘Laboratory.’ It’s a name that carries the wish for him not to go to graduate school. It means, ‘The path of graduate school is not for him.’”

“······.”

The head, who had stuffed a large piece of chicken galbi and sauce into his mouth, gulped down the beer and muttered gloomily.

“Please, let it succeed… So I can see the vice president’s face crumple.”