Do you have me in mind?
Of course...
He hesitated as he began to speak.
Memories of Lim Joowon flooded my mind—from the day I first met him on a variety show and suggested he join W&U, to when I brought him into my team.
There weren't many memories. He hadn't been particularly outstanding.
Looking back, that was the case.
Although Lim Joowon's recent dramas had performed well, that was all.
They couldn't pare to Cat Guardian Ghost, which turned Seo Jijoon into a Hallyu star overnight, or City Jungle, which won a trophy at the Cannes Film Festival and was a huge success domestically.
These were the works that could change an actor’s life...
The result was as it was.
I had been a bastard.
I should have been more aware, not just focused on what was right in front of me.
“I’m sorry. I was short-sighted. I didn’t intentionally exclude Mr. Joowon or ignore him on purpose. Never.”
I thought I had bee quite articulate in my work life. But now, I don’t even know what to say. Each word creaks out of my mind like it’s broken.
“Well, if that’s the case, it’s a relief.”
Lim Joowon glanced at me, propping his chin.
“It’s been hectic lately, and I keep hearing irritating things... So I just spoke frankly this time. Remember, ‘a crying child gets more cake.’”
Having spilled his heart, Lim Joowon seemed somewhat relieved.
Good works. Good works, indeed.
Suddenly, a script lying in the corner of the sofa caught my eye.
“That…”
Doctor 25 Hours.
It was the project I had chosen for Lim Joowon’s next work. A medical drama, somewhat sophisticated and weighty, whose first part of the script I had meticulously reviewed.
“The script? I couldn’t sleep, so I was flipping through it.”
“Do you like it?”
Lim Joowon turned sharply towards me.
“I do! Actually, I was about to say this was my favorite script I’ve read recently, but then I decided to wait because I knew Manager had his eye on it…”
Lim Joowon swallowed dryly and clutched the script to his chest.
“What about you, Manager? This?”
I saw his face tensed with anticipation.
While Seo Jijoon’s hotly anticipated projects were his first choice, Lim Joowon was a bit awkward. Though he was consistently the protagonist, he was second or third choice after the first-choice actor turned it down.
Doctor 25 Hours was third in line for him.
The first choice, an actor who had done medical dramas twice, declined because being typecast was burdensome. The second-choice actor’s schedule conflicted. Then came Lim Joowon.
The script was excellent.
It was the debut work of writer Kim Kyungsoo, who had been an assistant under the well-known writer Kong Mihee. Uncharacteristically for a newer, it was highly polished.
After just the initial scripts, IBC quickly decided to schedule it.
I had planned to finalize this with Lim Joowon after a proper consultation.
Future foresight had been wreaking havoc these past few days.
“What? How was it?”
“Me too…”
I exhaled shortly.
This is a good work. Really. There’s no reason to hesitate.
Lim Joowon looked uneasy, almost anxious.
“I thought it was fine. This drama, certainly,”
“Is it ending early?”
Damn.
I watched as familiar noises overlaid the scene.
At this point, might as well fuck it up as much as possible.
“Is there another drama that ended early like this? Isn’t Doctor 25 Hours the first? A drama that will make history. And I’m the lead?”
The same dim lighting, the same striped pajamas.
But instead of a bottle of rejuvenator, Lim Joowon held a bottle of alcohol.
An early ending?
Was there an accident? It couldn’t be an early ending without one.
Disheartened, I opened my mouth.
“Up to episode 6, it seems writer Kong Mihee was attached to check, no, not just check, almost like she wrote half of it.”
What?
It was such nonsense that my brain buffered trying to prehend.
“No, why? Why did she do that? Why write someone else’s script?”
“They were dating.”
“Then from episode 7…”
“They broke up.”
“…Ridiculous. Isn’t this a scam?”
Lim Joowon muttered with a dumbfounded face.
“Why am I so unlucky?”
Right. It’s absurd.
Unlucky too.
“Is it okay? Then shall I do this drama?”
As soon as he popped out of Future Vision, I met Lim Joowon’s gaze again.
In it, hope and desire exploded like fireworks.
“It looked fine…”
“I knew it. I had a feeling just looking at it
.”
Lim Joowon lifted the script of Doctor 25 Hours like a treasure. He looked happy. I just couldn’t bring myself to tell him to throw it away, knowing it was a drama destined for an early end.
Really, it was a terrible thing to do.
“Still.”
I barely managed to speak.
“Should we consider it a bit more, us?”
“What?”
“We should also check if there are any external issues with the work. It’d be terrible to finish filming and then have an accident.”
Lim Joowon clutched the script again.
“If there are no issues, we decide on this?”
“If there are no issues.”
“It’ll be fine. I can’t be that unlucky.”
······can I?
***
I arrived at work early, just as I had on my first day, before the sunrise.
In the dark, quiet office, I wanted some time alone to think.
A constant red warning light flashed in my mind. It was a precarious moment. All my nerves were stretched tight like a bowstring, ready to snap at any moment.
I needed to get things organized.
I searched for a pen and jotted down a few titles on a notepad.
Titles mentioned by a YouTuber: "Hong Gildong
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