Superstar From Age 0 - Chapter 273

Chapter 273

MBS Drama Department.

PD Park Min-kyu and the CP in charge of the four-part project were having a conversation. 

The CP’s eyes widened and he laughed cheerfully as he looked at the paper that PD Park Min-kyu showed him.

“Wow, you’re amazing. You’re already casting actors? Hee-chan said he hasn’t even decided on a work yet.”

The CP scanned the list of actors and commented on the notable names.

They were not all leading roles, but they were all talented actors. 

They seemed willing to appear in PD Park Min-kyu’s debut work if the work was good enough, and they also had good acting skills. 

The CP nodded his head, feeling that PD Park Min-kyu had been preparing for this work for quite a long time.

It was a project to fill in a month, but it was going better than expected. 

The CP was satisfied and decided to help the diligent PD as much as he could.

“Let me know if you need any help.”

“Yes!”

As the CP left his seat, PD Park Min-kyu also smiled and moved to another place. 

And somehow, without knowing it, assistant director Kim Dan-bi, who had been hiding and listening, quietly got up.

***

“PD Park. He’s already casting actors!”

PD Gong Hee-chan, who had just finished talking with the lighting director, and assistant director Choi Hyun-woo, who was next to him, looked up and saw Kim Dan-bi running towards them.

“He’s good at finding out things.”

“That’s right.”

Kim Dan-bi, who seemed to be out of breath from running, caught PD Gong Hee-chan’s curiosity. 

Who would PD Park Min-kyu have chosen? 

PD Gong Hee-chan scratched his chin. 

He also had some actors in mind after reading the script.

‘…Come to think of it.’

PD Gong Hee-chan suddenly remembered the papers he had left on his desk along with the script.

‘…No way.’

PD Gong Hee-chan’s eyes twitched as Kim Dan-bi mentioned the names of the actors. 

Choi Hyun-woo, who didn’t notice PD Gong Hee-chan’s serious expression, asked.

“Who’s there? Any top stars?”

“Of course not!”

Kim Dan-bi answered Choi Hyun-woo’s question and listed the names of the actors she had heard. 

PD Gong Hee-chan’s pupils shook with each name.

“He chose well for someone who stole PD Gong’s work.”

Choi Hyun-woo admired the list of actors like the CP did. 

He thought he was a trashy PD who only stole other people’s scripts, but he seemed to have some ability.

“Right? The roles fit them perfectly, don’t they? No, no. We can’t let PD Park succeed! PD! We have to find a script qui…”

Kim Dan-bi, who was admiring the actors, came to her senses and looked at PD Gong Hee-chan.

“…PD?”

PD Gong Hee-chan’s face was pale.

***

They didn’t have a script yet, so the three of them were able to leave work early. 

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo bought beer and dinner and headed to PD Gong Hee-chan’s house.

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo gasped as they heard PD Gong Hee-chan’s story.

Kim Dan-bi finally spat out.

“Are you kidding me?!”

Kim Dan-bi cursed at Park Min-kyu and said with a dark face.

“PD, why did you leave such an important thing on your desk?”

“…I know. Why did I do that?”

PD Gong Hee-chan drank his beer bitterly. 

He felt like he had been stabbed in the stomach. 

He never imagined that he would take not only the script but also everything else.

“He’s already starting filming… We haven’t even chosen a work yet.”

Kim Dan-bi said with a gloomy face. Choi Hyun-woo nodded in agreement and asked PD Gong Hee-chan.

“What did the lighting director say?”

“He said it was a one-act play script. I told him it was a four-part series and he said he would contact the writer.”

“Is it hard to change a one-act play script into a four-part series?”

Kim Dan-bi asked and PD Gong Hee-chan and Choi Hyun-woo thought about it.

“That depends on the writer’s ability. If the one-act play is too perfect, it might be impossible to extend it.”

“But who is the writer? A radio drama writer? A screenplay writer? Or someone who won a contest somewhere?”

The writer of the script that Park Min-kyu took was a screenplay writer who had written a few short films and had good works.

Kim Dan-bi’s eyes sparkled and PD Gong Hee-chan rolled his eyes.

“He’s also a debutant.”

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo laughed and drank their new cans of beer.

“Hehe. We’re doomed.”

“Huhu. I agree.”

“No, no. Both of them are debutants, so maybe the viewers will find it more fresh… maybe?”

“It’s so fresh that the drama will go to the sea.”

“Flap flap?”

Choi Hyun-woo’s words made Kim Dan-bi burst into laughter. 

They both seemed to have given up completely. 

They laughed as if they were laughing, and cried as if they were crying.

PD Gong Hee-chan, who was looking at his juniors with a bitter smile, took out his phone that was ringing. 

It was the lighting director who introduced him to the writer.

“Yes. Director.”

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo, who had heard everything even though they had given up, perked up their ears and looked at PD Gong Hee-chan.

-I told him it was a four-part series and he said he could revise it. I’ll give you his contact number, so do your best.

“Thank you!”

-Well, I owe both sides, so it’s not good for me. I have to do the sales myself as a freelancer.

The freelance lighting director laughed cheerfully. 

PD Gong Hee-chan also laughed at his gesture of making excuses because he was worried that it would be a burden on him, even though he didn’t have to do any sales because he was called everywhere for his good skills.

“Let’s have a meal sometime. I’ll treat you.”

-Sure. I like beef. Buy me beef if you hit the jackpot.

“Yes!”

-Oh, I forgot to tell you, but So Eun-jin is the assistant writer.

“…What?

-It’s a one-act play, so So Eun-jin and PD Choi Min-sung liked it, but I don’t know about a four-part series. But she has basic skills, so she won’t fail completely. If you hit the jackpot, it’s hanwoo?

The lighting director chuckled and hung up.

Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo, who had been listening without breathing, tilted their heads.

“…Is this a good thing?”

“I don’t know. The one-act play was good, but I’m not sure about the four-part series…”

“Let’s read the script first.”

Saying that, PD Gong Hee-chan sent a text message to the number that the lighting director gave him.

<Hello, this is PD Gong Hee-chan.

<Can I call you now?

Yes! Hello! This is Yu Cheong-a!

***

The next day.

A quiet cafe.

PD Gong Hee-chan arrived earlier than the appointed time and was staring at the thing in his hand without drinking the beverage next to him. 

In PD Gong Hee-chan’s hand was the script that So Eun-jin’s assistant writer, Yu Cheong-a, had sent him by email.

He had talked to the writer on the phone just yesterday, but the script was already worn out as if he had read and analyzed it all night.

“It’s perfect as a one-act play.”

PD Gong Hee-chan scratched his chin. 

It seemed that the writer had revised it a lot. The script had a clear beginning, middle, and end.

‘I have to add more stories to extend it into a four-part series. That means I have to add new elements…’

He didn’t want to force in new characters because the one-act play was too precious.

‘What should I do?’

He had read and analyzed the script with Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo yesterday, but he couldn’t think of anything.

PD Gong Hee-chan was groaning when the cafe door opened.

Yu Cheong-a, who looked nervous, looked around the cafe and spotted a man reading a script. 

She ordered a drink at the counter and approached the man.

“Excuse me, are you PD Gong Hee-chan?”

“Yes, I’m Gong Hee-chan.”

“Hello, I’m Yu Cheong-a.”

They both felt awkward introducing themselves with their PD and writer names. 

They smiled awkwardly as their eyes met and sat down.

Yu Cheong-a’s eyes caught the script that PD Gong Hee-chan was holding.

It was her script that didn’t even have a title yet, and it was worn out. 

She smiled softly at the sight.

Her drink came out and they started talking seriously.

“As I told you, the broadcast date is April. It’s a Monday-Tuesday 10 p.m. drama and it will air once a week. There’s another work airing with us, so we don’t know yet if it will be on Monday or Tuesday.”

She knew this from the phone call, but Yu Cheong-a nodded her head.

“I have to finish it well if it’s once a week.”

“Yes. There has to be an impact at the end of each episode to keep the viewers interested until next week’s broadcast.”

Yu Cheong-a wrote it down in her notebook. 

PD Gong Hee-chan continued.

“When do you think you can finish the script?”

“Oh, I thought of this yesterday. What do you think of putting this in the drama?”

Yu Cheong-a took out a bunch of papers from her bag. 

PD Gong Hee-chan took the printed papers. 

Yu Cheong-a said nervously.

“I thought we needed new elements to make a one-act play into a four-part series.”

“Yes, that’s right. Your one-act play is very well-made.”

Yu Cheong-a smiled shyly at PD Gong Hee-chan’s words.

“So I tried to put them in, but they might not fit well because I wrote them in a hurry. Please read them with consideration. Of course, they can be modified.”

She had stayed up all night writing this.

“Okay, I understand.”

PD Gong Hee-chan read down the papers that Yu Cheong-a gave him. 

As Yu Cheong-a said, it was a rough story that she wrote in a hurry, but PD Gong Hee-chan realized what she was thinking.

“This would be fun. It doesn’t ruin the original story, but it also makes the viewers more emotionally involved. There will be more scenes to add as well.”

PD Gong Hee-chan’s intuition shouted. This would be a hit. He had to get it.

Yu Cheong-a’s face brightened at his words.

“Then let’s do this.”

“Who are you thinking of for this role?”

PD Gong Hee-chan asked and Yu Cheong-a rolled her eyes and opened her mouth.

PD Gong Hee-chan’s mouth dropped open at Yu Cheong-a’s words. His hand trembled as if there was an earthquake. Yu Cheong-a scratched her cheek and said.

“Of course, they have to agree first.”

“…Yes… Of course.”

PD Gong Hee-chan grabbed the cup in front of him with his shaking hand.

He was glad he ordered a cold drink today. If it had been hot coffee, he would have burned his hand. 

The cup shook with his hand. But he was thirsty, so he couldn’t put the cup down.

He managed to take a sip and said.

“Yu Cheong-a. You’re really… amazing.”

Even though they were both debutants, So Eun-jin had worked with a lot of top actors, so she was different from him. 

He felt that way, but he also felt drawn to Yu Cheong-a’s words.

Somehow, it felt like it would be okay.

No, it felt like it would be perfect.

‘It might be hard to find other actors… But it’s a debut work.’

He didn’t have to worry about ratings and he would get some support, so he could try anything. 

He remembered the CP’s words.

‘Is this what Dan-bi meant by going to the sea?’

He thought of Kim Dan-bi and Choi Hyun-woo, who would be really surprised and flap their arms when they heard this story. 

PD Gong Hee-chan smiled and said.

“Let’s keep this between us until we cast them.”

“Yes. They might not be casted.”

The writer and the PD who met each other’s eyes burst into a cheerful laugh.