Chapter 126: The Writer (3)

Translator: Dreamscribe

The announcement Netflix Korea put out first thing in the morning set the press buzzing. It more than deserved to. They had released an official statement saying the writer of 'Murder Is a Qualification Too' was Oh Jong-man.

"Huh?? The writer is......Oh Jong-man?"

The reporters who checked Netflix Korea's official announcement had no idea what to make of it at first. The 'One-Act Drama Project' was still pulling serious aggro from public opinion and the press.

"S-so you're saying Oh Jong-man wrote 'Murder Is a Qualification Too'??"

"...What even is this. Somebody just wrote up a tabloid rumor like it's fact, didn't they?"

"Nope. Look at it, it really is Netflix Korea's announcement."

"Does that even make sense?? Oh Jong-man's an actor, since when is he a writer?"

But hearing out of nowhere that Oh Jong-man was a writer, they couldn't believe it. Dumbfounded, the reporters read through Netflix's official announcement line by line. It laid out, in condensed form, how Oh Jong-man had come to join the 'One-Act Drama Project' as both writer and actor.

"He took first place in the One-Act Drama Project contest under the stage name 'Writer Jong-man'??"

"So Netflix didn't know 'Writer Jong-man' was Oh Jong-man at first either."

"This One-Act Drama Project contest, didn't a ton of writers pile into it early on? Taking first place there means... Oh Jong-man's writing flair is ridiculous."

"What kind of twist is this......Netflix must have keeled over when Oh Jong-man walked in."

"Obviously! You call someone in thinking he's a rookie writer and Oh Jong-man shows up? I'd fall out of my chair too."

Bit by bit, the swarm of reporters caught on to how the One-Act Drama Project had been rolling along, and what kind of snowball Netflix Korea had planned with Oh Jong-man.

"Actor Oh Jong-man, who dropped off the map when the incident blew up. And then he turns up as a writer out of nowhere. And he's actually good."

"Oh Jong-man the writer alone would pull attention......but using him as an actor too cranked the aggro up more than double."

"Hide the writer angle, squeeze every drop of controversy out of Oh Jong-man's acting comeback, then release 'Murder Is a Qualification Too'. And once everybody's piled in, announce Oh Jong-man the writer."

"The plan worked like an absolute charm. Man... I don't know whose head this came out of, but the setup is straight-up legit??"

The reporters were left in awe.

"There's no question this was plotted out deliberately from the very start."

Because the story between Netflix and Oh Jong-man was unbelievable. Even stalling for a day by writing the writer credit off as a typo had been perfect.

"Who the hell drew this thing up? Netflix Korea? Or Oh Jong-man himself?"

"Whoever planned it, the way their mind works is insane. And they know the entertainment industry inside out."

"Starting with the noise marketing, there's more than one or two techniques packed into this."

It was a plan that drew admiration all on its own. The reporters had no idea, but at that moment they were showering Kang Jae-ha with praise. The board of the 'One-Act Drama Project' had been set entirely by Jae-ha, near enough.

"I'm impressed, seriously impressed. A setup this good, we ought to be sucking up to them too."

"Agreed."

Soon the reporters' fingers were flying. They meant to spread Netflix Korea's freshly dropped official statement far and wide. Part of it was being moved by the plan, but it was also plainly a story that would blow up.

Before long, articles began pouring out.

《Actor Oh Jong-man, Back After the Controversy? No, He Was a Writer Too!》

《[StarPick] Acting Is the Side Job, The Writer Behind 'Murder Is a Qualification Too' Was Oh Jong-man/ Photo》

《It Wasn't a Typo! How Actor Oh Jong-man Debuted as a Writer》

The articles going out all carried Oh Jong-man, Netflix, 'Murder Is a Qualification Too', and the rest of it.

《[Issue Check] The Public Baffled, "Oh Jong-man Is a Writer?"》

Maybe because the firepower behind it was so heavy, articles about Oh Jong-man the writer blanketed the search portals in no time. At that point there was no way the entertainment world, broadcasters, agencies, production houses, film studios and the rest, could have missed it.

"Wait, what?? The writer of 'Murder Is a Qualification Too' is Oh Jong-man??"

"This is throwing me. The thing was seriously good. So Oh Jong-man wrote 'Murder Is a Qualification Too' himself and acted in it too? Has anyone ever written their own piece and starred in it?"

"It's a first for me, at least. Ha......so what do we call Oh Jong-man from now on? Actor? Writer?"

Oh Jong-man the writer swept through the entire industry in a flash, and the actors senior and junior to him were just as stunned. Even Moon Ji-a's eyes went wide over the articles, which said it all.

"Wow... Oh Jong-man sunbae-nim is......a writer?? Insane."

But when all was said and done, the ones shaking hardest were the public.

-crzy???

-holy shit ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ most shocked I've been in ages ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

-????????what is this for real????

-oh jong-man's writing flair is nuts, Murder Is a Qualification Too was fucking good

-pull aggro with the acting comeback then announce he's the writer....

-first time I've ever seen an actor be the writer

-whoaaa ㅋㅋㅋㅋ so Oh Jong-man can just write his own stuff and star in it?? sweet deal

That was how far interest exploded.

-ahh ㅋㅋㅋㅋ wasn't even interested but now I gotta watch it just to see

-going to watch it right now too

-fuck now I'm curious ㅋㅋㅋ I'm going to watch it too

That current held for half a day. No, it only got rowdier as time went on. Loud enough that people were making noise about it on social media and Youtube alike.

Watching it all unfold, Kang Jae-ha smiled.

'Well, the results came out pretty much the way I figured.'

The picture had come together about as he had wanted, so he was satisfied.

'This way Oh Jong-man, and An Ji-hee and the 'One-Act Drama Project' too, all get a proper trickle-down effect.'

Then, two days later, the 4th. With aggro still piled thick on Oh Jong-man and 'Murder Is a Qualification Too', Netflix refreshed the day's content rankings.

[Today's TOP 10 Content in South Korea]

1. Murder Is a Qualification Too

2. The Delinquent Father

3. I Pray

4. House of the Daytime Moon

5. Dirty Hands

.

.

.

.

'Murder Is a Qualification Too', starring An Ji-hee with Oh Jong-man as writer and actor, sat at number one overall.

And in the afternoon, as if they had been waiting for it, Netflix Korea released the main OST for 'Murder Is a Qualification Too'.

-[new!] Murder Impulse?/Kim Hyun-a ('Murder Is a Qualification Too' OST Part 1)

After Oh Jong-man, it was Choi Ri-na's turn.

Late afternoon.

Kang Jae-ha clocked out of Leon and joined Lee Chan-hoo and Ha Yeon-ji straight away. Kang Jae-ha, wearing the mask of General Manager Kim Ha-jae, and his two subordinates headed for one of MEG's subsidiaries. Namely 'FrameMEG', the animation studio in the process of producing 'Moonless Village'.

Director Hong Man-seop, thick eyebrows and all, looked considerably more haggard, but.

"You're here, sir!"

His fighting spirit was as high as ever. Progress on 'Moonless Village', the animated film aiming for worldwide release, was already into the back half. No, calling it the final stretch would not have been a stretch.

"The background work is done, and we were just about to move into voice actor recording."

Key animation, in-between animation, coloring, and now the backgrounds all being finished meant the production stage had wrapped. Now 'Moonless Village' moved on to the back end, post-production. Which meant all that remained was voice recording, music, special effects, and the final editing.

Even as he listened to the briefing, Kang Jae-ha nodded slowly.

'Fast. The experience from making 'House of the Daytime Moon' and having the screenplay already finished must be the big factors. Plus Director Hong Man-seop laying out the storyboard ahead of time.'

Between one thing and another, roughly two to three months had been shaved off 'Moonless Village's production schedule. Most of that had been banked in pre-production. Then Director Hong Man-seop, announcing the start of voice recording,

"As I told you, casting for the voice actors is already finished, and recording begins next week."

led Kang Jae-ha, Lee Chan-hoo, and Ha Yeon-ji into the workroom with excitement written on his face.

"As a bit of a test, would you like to see 'Moonless Village' with the music laid over it?"

Not the official version; he meant to show them a taster cut Director Hong Man-seop had prepared in advance. Soon Kang Jae-ha was taking in a scene from 'Moonless Village' in the workroom lined with monitors.

An action scene. The effects, the special effects, that is, had not been layered in yet, so it was less dazzling, but.

'The quality. Killer.'

Even so, the action scene in 'Moonless Village' was more than enough to seize Kang Jae-ha's eyes. But that wasn't all.

-♬♪

The main OST for 'Moonless Village' had been laid beneath the action scene. The main OST's title had been settled too, 'Wolhyang'. Naturally it was a song Choi Ri-na had written, with her vocals threaded through it.

A tempo that started gentle and swelled explosively into something grand in no time.

Kang Jae-ha had heard it already, but.

'Laid over the work, it hits completely differently.'

Playing under 'Moonless Village' in earnest, the grain of the emotion was different. In any case, Director Hong Man-seop's face said he was thoroughly taken with the main OST 'Wolhyang', with Choi Ri-na's vocals.

"This song, 'Wolhyang', is the best. It's no exaggeration to call it the heart of 'Moonless Village'."

When the sample action scene finished playing, Director Hong Man-seop looked from the masked Kang Jae-ha to Lee Chan-hoo and Ha Yeon-ji and pronounced it with certainty.

"'Moonless Village', I think we can finish production and hold a test screening by next month."

Which meant less than two months to completion.

Same moment, the 'Mask of Murder' set.

The 'Mask of Murder' team, led by the master director Yu Gil-tae, was crowded onto the soundstage. They had been shooting right up until a moment ago; now it was a short break.

Dozens of crew and actors, all clamor.

The reason was simple. A coffee truck had arrived on set. The star of the coffee truck was Yoon Da-yeon, and the one who had sent it to her was the top actress Moon Ji-a.

A bit like, how to put it, killing an enemy with kindness.

For the record, talk of Oh Jong-man was hot here too.

"You heard the news about Oh Jong-man sunbae-nim, right?? That he debuted as a writer."

"Of course I did!"

Either way, with coffee transfused into them, actors and crew alike snapped awake again. Director Yu Gil-tae, on the other hand, seated where the monitors were set up, was quiet.

"......"

He seemed deep in thought about something. Which wasn't strange, since he was thinking about General Manager Kim Ha-jae, whom he had met a few days earlier. Or, precisely, about the scouting offer he had received from him.

''MEG', huh...'

Director Yu Gil-tae ran back through everything 'MEG' had done from BIFF up until now. It was, without question, a formidable organization. The speed of its growth, its unusual moves, all of it.

But it wasn't a decision he could make lightly.

'Their capital looks enormous, but there's no way to tell who the backer is.'

For a start, 'MEG' had a great deal hidden away. It clearly had a backer, but who that was, no one could say. On top of that, its growth was abnormally fast. Director Yu Gil-tae, who had knocked around the film world for decades, had seen his share of investment firms that were nothing but polish on the surface.

'There's definitely a dangerous smell to it......'

Only, the terms General Manager Kim Ha-jae had laid out were far too sweet. Director Yu Gil-tae called back the most striking thing the man had said.

'Whether it earns nothing, whether it's a picture with no profit in it that's aimed at the festivals, none of that matters. The condition is that 'MEG' will support whatever work you bring us, Director.'

It had been a truly cold voice, and yet full of conviction.

"Hmm."

The truth was, Director Yu Gil-tae had a goal of submitting to one of the Three Major International Film Festivals, Cannes, Venice, Berlin. He had taken his shot before, sure, but it usually stopped at being an invited film, or he came up short of the grand prize time and again.

"I don't have to enter. But still...the challenge keeps flickering in front of me."

No matter how high a seat a master occupied, stopping the pursuit of challenge meant stagnating. That was Director Yu Gil-tae's standing belief. But a challenge from a master on Yu Gil-tae's level cost money. Quite a lot of it. And far too many competing interests got tangled up in it.

'Hunting down an investment firm every single time, and then catering to that firm's tastes, it's all work.'

But belonging to 'MEG' solved every bit of it. Just like 'Mask of Murder' now.

Then, having made up his mind about something, Director Yu Gil-tae pulled out his phone.

"I don't know what this decision will end up producing down the line... but it's too sweet to keep out of my mouth."

He placed a call to General Manager Kim Ha-jae. Soon, from the other side of the phone came the calm, dry voice of General Manager Kim Ha-jae. No, of Kang Jae-ha.

"Yes, Director."

The master, Director Yu Gil-tae, answered in a gentle tone.

"It seems I've been properly reeled in. I'll go with 'MEG'."

*****

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