4 – It’s always better to be in a hurry

Honestly, when I got a direct call from Studio N Mix’s PD yesterday, I thought it was old.

Isn’t it usually the right order to announce an award-winning work and then proceed with contracts or dramatization?

Because of this, I kept doubting until lunch today, but when I saw a black foreign car standing in front of the school gate after school, my doubts disappeared in an instant.

“Hello. 927 You are the author, right?”

A handsome middle-aged man wearing a white sweater inside and a black coat outside spoke to me in front of the school gate.

“That…… PD Na Young-jin?”

“Yes. This is Na Young-jin, whom I spoke with yesterday.”

He smiled and handed me a white business card.

Hmm, it definitely seemed like a PD from Studio Enmix.

“Ah, the person behind the wheel is Cho Yong-seok, the youngest member of our planning and production team 1.”

At Na Young-jin’s introduction, a man with a sturdy physique and black horn-rimmed glasses sitting in the driver’s seat lightly bowed his head toward me.

“Then shall we go to the head office?”

Na Young-jin opened the door to the back seat as if he were treating an honored guest.

I felt a bit burdened because I felt like I was being treated like an honored guest.

“How did you write such a script?”

While heading to the head office, producer Na Young-jin, who sat in the seat next to me, continued to ask questions.

As a result of a brief conversation after completing the identification of the participants yesterday, I was convinced that I was 927, and I was still in that state.

Even after realizing that I was underage, I immediately asked for permission from my parents to visit the head office.

Unstoppable progress and quick notice.

Looking at those eyes that never looked at me lightly just because I was young, it seemed like he didn’t become a PD for nothing.

What……. Thanks to that progress, my family found out that I wrote the script for the drama, and I was publicly executed right in front of my eyes.

Of course, I received rave reviews from my mother and older sister for the story, but it was embarrassing anyway.

“Oh, and I wonder why you used a pseudonym instead of your real name in the writer’s name field.”

“…… You should have written your real name on that?”

“…… ?”

At my answer, Na Young-jin tilted her head.

Actually, 927 was a name I made up roughly thinking that a pseudonym was irrelevant.

To be honest, it was a bit burdensome for me to openly f*ck with my real name, not just because of my age.

“Then does the number 927 mean nothing?”

“Um… ….”

It had some meaning.

September 27 shortened to 927.

By the way, that day was my birthday.

“Ha ha ha!”

When I said this, Na Young-jin, who was sitting next to her, laughed out loud for some reason.

“Ah, I didn’t mean to laugh this loudly, but I’m sorry. The author was a lot more fun than I thought.”

“…… Is it a compliment?”

“Yes. For the time being, I think it’s an honor that only Yongseok and I know the secret about the writer’s name.”

…… ?

What is that again?

I was about to ask what it meant, but the car stopped suddenly.

“Ah, we have arrived. This is the headquarters of Studio N Mix.”

From noble mtl dot com

As she got out of the car following Na Young-jin, a huge building towered in front of her eyes.

The walls are made of glass, so the building looks so sophisticated that you can see the whole inside.

Is this the headquarters of ‘Studio Enmix’, Korea’s leading drama production company? ….

It was a sophisticated-looking building that instantly pushed away memories of the previous workplace.

***

We arrived at a small conference room located on the 4th floor of the head office.

When I entered the place, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his mid-50s was sitting nervously.

And for some reason, when he saw my face, he was startled and got up from his chair.

“Hey, Youngjin, is this student really that person?”

“Yes. Didn’t I see you yesterday?”

“Ha ha ha. It was a true story.”

A middle-aged man tapping his forehead as if bewildered.

He noticed my gaze and hurriedly greeted me.

“Oops! Author, my name is Park Yong-oh, who is in charge of the directorship of Studio Enmix.”

A middle-aged man who introduced himself as Park Yong-oh reached out to me for a handshake.

I accidentally shook hands with him.

“Please take a seat. It will be a long talk.”

Me and Park Yong-oh sat facing each other, and Na Young-jin naturally sat next to the director.

In the awkward atmosphere, it was Director Park Yong-oh who strongly wanted this meeting.

“To be honest, from the moment I read your script, I wanted to sign a contract as an exclusive writer for our production company.”

And from the start, it was direct purchase.

I felt like I had a vague idea of the director’s personality here.

“Something is strange. I understand that the contest I applied for was held with the goal of drawing an interesting script and turning it into a drama with an award-winning writer, but all of a sudden, an exclusive writer…….”

I asked with a puzzled expression.

I know very well how disastrous the level of this drama is, but even so, it seemed that there was a sense of impatience.

From the beginning, drama writers step by step from the basics.

Jung Seok started as the youngest writer after completing a program called the Broadcasting Writers Training Institute, and there are many cases where he debuted as a drama writer after building a long career in variety shows or documentaries.

However, the drama script you submitted to the contest coincidentally met the needs of the person in charge, and you said you wanted to sign a contract as an exclusive writer in an instant?

No matter how old you are or where you come from, a job with a variety of backgrounds is a drama writer, but it was a case that made no sense.

“Kuhm! That means our situation is urgent. Well, I only dreamed of being an exclusive writer anyway because the artist is so young.”

Director Park Yong-oh showed a dejected smile.

If you think about the Labor Standards Act, middle school students in middle school cannot be used as workers.

Of course, there are exceptions when participating in art performances such as movies or dramas, but the procedure is so complicated that I had no intention of doing it in the first place.

I managed to achieve my big dream of producing a drama right before I died. However, as I got cancer due to the process, I first thought that I didn’t have to turn my hobby into a job.

And isn’t there a saying like this?

The moment a hobby becomes a job, it’s an instant to fall in love with it.

It was a word I could sympathize with because I had already experienced that crisis several times while living as the youngest writer in my previous life.

“… ….”

I looked at Director Park Yong-oh, who was sitting across from me.

Somewhere, he looks quite impatient.

It seems that he liked the drama script I wrote.

Perhaps the reason I said that the story is going to be long at first is to focus on what to do with my script.

The scripts submitted to the contest belong to the authors themselves.

This was a basic copyright law provision for both winning and non-winning contestants.

So it means that the ownership of the script I wrote is completely mine…….

Actually, from the time I got the call yesterday until I came here, I had roughly thought of what to do.

“Certainly, since I am old enough, and I have to pay attention to my studies, there must be a lot of restrictions for me to work together on a drama production.”

“…… That’s right.”

“Then I will sell the script.”

“Yes…… ? I beg your pardon?”

Director Park Yong-oh asks once again if he doubted his ears.

I said with a grin.

“To be honest, I am surprised that people read my script and treat me like this. So, if you’re really willing to sell my script, I’ll sell it.”

“Are you sure?”

Director Park Yong-oh’s mouth caught on my ears at my suggestion.

Looks like he can’t hide his smile.

Hmm…… But I think it’s a little too early for you to like it already.

“However, there are conditions.”

“Conditions…… ?”

“Yes. About three.”

It is obviously a number that could be high if there were many, but it was a number that was reduced to the maximum from the point of view of the condition.

“First of all…… “

I opened my mouth slowly.

The first condition is to ask the scriptwriter to specify the writer’s name as 927 when it is dramatized, and to coordinate with me when there is something to revise the script.

Well, there’s probably nothing more upsetting than if the story I conceived is stated in someone else’s name, or if the story suddenly goes to hell because the contents are modified.

Director Park Yong-oh nodded happily, saying it was natural.

“How much do you think?”

The second part was about money, a sensitive topic.

Generally, the income of drama writers varies greatly, but I heard that a fairly successful writer receives roughly 100 million won per episode, including manuscript fees and down payment.

In addition, if you add the copyright fees for reruns and the down payment for overseas copyright exports, you will earn more income, but it was not a topic worth discussing already.

First of all, I asked Director Park Yong-oh to see how much I could give per episode.

But, as if expecting this question, he smiled leisurely and offered the price.

…… ?

What is it? Did I just hear that wrong?

“…… Really?”

“What benefit do I get from lying? If you don’t believe me, I’ll show you the contract.”

When Director Park Yong-oh said that, PD I, who was sitting next to me, handed me a bunch of white paper that looked like a contract.

Once I read the contents roughly, it seemed to be the standard when I originally signed a contract as an exclusive writer.

“If you want something, it will probably be stated on the second page.”

Following my PD-nim’s words, I immediately turned over a piece of paper.

Let’s see…….

“It will depend on the average viewership, but if it exceeds 10% of the basic cloth, it is 2,000, and if it exceeds 20%, it is 5,000. Of course, if it goes beyond that, we’ll have to talk about it again.”

As Director Park Yong-oh, who looked quite confident somewhere, said the same thing in the contract.

No, no matter how interesting the story is, is it okay to give this much to a middle school student…… ?

“Studio N Mix is a reminder that age does not matter when it comes to fun.”

I asked carefully, and Director Park Yong-oh, who returned, gave a firm answer.

Anyway, it seems to be properly serious.

After… ….

It’s your first time, but the basics are cloth?

Since the script I wrote is roughly 16 episodes, the total is 160 million.

On top of that, if you think about when the ratings go over 10%…….

Write…….

My mouth is already watering.

“Ah, then, can’t you give that money as stock in Studio N Mix? This is my second condition.”

“You mean stocks?”

Director Park Yong-oh looks very puzzled.

He nodded again, as if there was nothing wrong with it.

The reason why I wanted shares in Studio Enmix was that I didn’t need a lot of money right away anyway, and the current price was very cheap.

What…… If you look at the drama market where there is no sense of crisis right now, it could go down further, but it was money that came out of nowhere anyway, so I was willing to endure that level of risk.

Then, the last condition remains…….

In a way, this was the most important condition.

“There is one thing I want to tell you. As long as I’m selling the script, I won’t touch the drama at all. Whether it’s at the production stage or at the casting stage. I will only hand over the script.”

At my remark, the mouths of the two people sitting across from me gaped.

In dramas, the writer who conceived the story puts a lot of influence on them, and I tend to pay attention to them. In the production stage, you can ask the director to do this and that, and the casting stage is always the most difficult.

Since most of the writers are greedy people who want to fill their roles with named actors, it has always been difficult for production companies to compromise with them.

But I just left it all up to the discretion of the producers.

What this means is that it was a truly unconventional concession that allowed them to comfortably produce my script according to their taste, excluding the story part.

Just.

I intended to touch only one last part.

That’s the casting stage.

“My last condition is that the person I mentioned must be cast for the role of the female lead [Winter]! No, I just want to write unconditionally. Hmm…… To be honest, I don’t think I will ever give up on this.”

As soon as I hit the nail, Director Park Yong-oh swallowed his saliva and asked.

“Heh heh heh. You are impatient to think that you are already thinking about casting a female lead role. Who are you thinking of?”

Director Park Yong-oh’s slightly questioning question reminded me of the face of a girl I met by chance at a cafe a few days ago.

Maturity and atmosphere that don’t fit your age. A look so beautiful that exclamations come out spontaneously.

“Seol So-young.”

She was the person who inspired me to create this script, and most of all, she was the person I envisioned called “Winter.”

That’s why I had a strong wish for Seol So-young to act as her in winter.

“…… Seol So-young? Are you referring to the daughter of Seol Han-yong, president of Jeil Electronics?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

From noble mtl dot com

As I nodded, Director Park Yong-oh and PD Na Young-jin exchanged glances with serious expressions.

Anyway, this must have been an unexpected situation.

“That…… If we answer that it is difficult to meet the last condition, what are you going to do then?”

After a while, Director Park Yong-oh looked at me and asked carefully.

Unfortunately, the answer to this question has already been decided.

So I just answered with a friendly smile.

“I won’t sell it. Script.”

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