Chapter 90:

Chapter 90:

Chapter 90

It would be a lie to say I wasnt tempted.

How could a cat pass by such a delicious fish?

Prince Yeonsan was not only a historical figure, but also a famous one among the general public.

It was a role that any actor would be drawn to.

The well-known PD had blurted it out and now he was carefully observing my reaction.

The reason why top actors avoided historical dramas was simple: they were not cost-effective.

The high shooting intensity, the long episodes, and the relatively low pay were not worth it.

A historical drama.

The truth was, I had a special affection for historical dramas.

When I was playing minor roles in my past life, I wanted to appear in historical dramas more than any other genre.

The reason was simple.

Most of them were produced as long series, so even if I was a minor role, I had a high frequency of appearance.

I took that opportunity to build rapport with the broadcasting staff, and I could say that my broadcasting career was based on historical dramas. But.

PD Yoo, there is a big problem.

I had to say it again: business and personal matters should be clear.

No matter how attractive the role was, I couldnt jump in rashly.

Even if it was an outstanding character, it was impossible without a solid script.

If its a historical drama, you have to start with historical verification and research. There are more than one or two things to do. If you hastily hire a writer and make a script like this, youll end up with a worse product than you made. Then, the script will be obvious as fire, and

If movies were centered on directing, dramas were driven by the writers ability.

Since they had to unfold a story in a limited frame, no matter how good the directing was, if the script was bad, it would collapse like a sandcastle.

Most of the dramas that were called headless chickens had this problem.

Because they couldnt pre-produce like movies, they had to deal with the urgent shooting schedule and the script that came at the last minute.

Besides, this is not a good time to hire writers. There arent many historical drama writers, you know.

June was the busiest time for writers.

Through the dramas that were airing in the first half of the year, the famous writers had already put down their pens, and they had to finish the first draft of the works that were scheduled to air in the second half of the year.

It was a time when there was no gap for writers, in other words, the famous writers were already sold out.

Dont worry about that. I knew that, so I already marked one person. A writer with good writing skills, good ideas, and no late scripts. I dont know about historical dramas, but in the mini-series, they were already trying to take him away. Once he touched it, he blew up the ratings. Even if he worked with a talentless director, he somehow saved it with his writing skills. How do you think he got called the surge of the drama industry?

Theres still someone like that?

That writer is on a sabbatical right now and doesnt want to meet anyone. So I was lucky to be safe.

How are you going to persuade him if he doesnt want to meet anyone?

There was a saying in the drama industry that there was a star writer above a star actor.

Thats how much dramas valued the writers ability over the directing, and the writers had a lot of power.

Especially the ones who were called king writers, their value and treatment were not inferior to the top actors.

And that was more so as time changed.

As domestic dramas sold their rights overseas and created the wave of Hallyu, the king writers were the ones who chose the actors.

Hwang Sookyung, a writer from SBC broadcasting station, was a similar case. He also had the modifier Hwang Sookyungs man when he starred in the drama Youth in Young-guk.

The famous PD casually took something out of his bag.

Read this.

It was an old novel. It looked at least ten years old.

Actually, I decided to do a historical drama based on this work. It was an alternative history novel about Prince Yeonsan that a college student wrote ten years ago, and I liked it a lot. The publisher had already gone bankrupt and disappeared, so I had a hard time finding the original author. But it turned out that the candle was under the lamp. The writer was a broadcasting writer. The writer I marked was the original author.

Who could it be?

****

Eunsuk, can you get me some coarse salt from the kitchen cabinet?

Shrimp caught in the lunar month were not even given to the mother-in-law.

The flesh was full and the color was reddish, as if flowers had bloomed.

If you salted the shrimp caught in the lunar month with solar salt, it would be called ojot or yukjot depending on the season, and it was the best for kimchi.

Mom, lets just buy some kimchi and eat it. Why do you have to make shrimp sauce so hard? If you do this much in an apartment, youll get complaints because of the smell. The stench will spread all the way to the next building.

Thats when it happened.

Ding dong.

The sudden sound of the doorbell makes her mother get up from her seat and adjust her sweatpants.

She doesnt forget to say a word to Choi Eunsuk, who is still making the fish sauce.

Press the fish down in layers and sprinkle some rice water on top, just a little bit. Dont pour it all at once. Youre the one whos going to eat it. By the way, they deliver packages on Sundays too?

Mom, did you order something from home shopping again?

Its almost summer, honey. I saw a pretty pair of sandals and ordered one. Hehe.

Come on, mom. Im unemployed at home and youre spending money like crazy.

You said you dont want to write anymore and youre taking a break. Why are you mad at me? You should just find a man and get married. They say theres a match for every shoe. Where did our daughters match go? Sigh.

Oh, mom, stop it! My ears hurt, they hurt.

I feel sorry for you when I see your hair standing up. Yeah, yeah, Ill go out now.

Choi Eunsuk shakes her head in frustration. She knows her mothers heart, though. She is worried that her only daughter will be left alone as they get older. At that moment, she hears her mothers exaggerated voice from the other side of the door.

Youre her coworker?

Starting with that,

My goodness, what a rare guest!

She exclaims. Her voice is full of excitement. Choi Eunsuk wonders who came to visit. She sticks her head out. Thats when she sees the famous PD handing a fruit basket to her mother, who is wearing sweatpants and rubber gloves. And she locks eyes with him.

****

We dont have much to offer, if you had come a few days earlier, we would have had some marinated ribs left.

Contrary to her words, the table is full of dishes.

Her mother prepared them in a hurry when she heard that he hadnt had lunch.

The famous PD looks at the food with his hands folded.

From stir-fried squid to grilled sea bass, to sea cucumber, which is called the ginseng of the sea. It is a feast of dishes that the dragon king of the sea would enjoy.

No, no, this is too much. I dont know what to do with myself.

You dont have to be shy, youre like a son to me since youre my daughters coworker. By the way, are you married?

No, Im still single, but

Mom!

Alright, alright, Ill turn on the gas. Let me know if you need anything else. I cooked plenty of rice, so dont be shy and eat as much as you want. I have to go to the veranda and fold some laundry.

I tuck Ahn Jung-hyuns head under my arm and tease him. He tickles my ribs in retaliation. We fool around for a while, until he asks me, panting.

Uncle, have you ever been afraid of a role as an actor?

Afraid? Sure, sometimes.

Really?

Like when the script is crap and I cant get the words out of my mouth, or when I dont like the female lead and I cant get into the character. Or when the catering is bad and I wonder if this is what Im acting under the scorching sun for.

Oh, stop joking.

Ahn Jung-hyun sobers up and puts on a serious face.

If youre not afraid, youre not an actor. There are always limitations, you know. Sometimes you find a role that fits you perfectly, but the pay is too low and your agency rejects it. Then you cant just lower your price as an actor on your own. And its the same when you do a project that everyone opposes. You worry that you might ruin your career because of your stubbornness. And when you feel the role is too hard, you doubt if you can pull it off. From the moment the word worry starts spinning in your head, your lines become unnatural.

But all that worrying is useless. As time goes by, youll realize it was all for nothing. You have to learn this when youre young. Dont let others stop you and go for it like a lone wolf. An actor has to blend in with the role. The more you think, the more noise you make in your acting.

His advice enlightens me. Ive been unconsciously looking at my agencys face all this time. Its not that Kim Seonghwan, the CEO, is pressuring me.

Its because I was obsessed with maintaining my high value as an actor, as The Priests Confession surpassed 5 million viewers and the audience numbers kept soaring. Thats a far cry from my vow to live as an actor. I wanted to thank him, but he was already dozing off. I look at the old novel in my hand. Its the one that the famous PD gave me.

To Live as Yeonsan.

The title sounds plausible.

The authors name is something.

Choi Kang Gondyu.

If thats not weird, I dont know what is.

The pen name gives off a childish vibe. But the genre is history.

To be precise, its alternative history, a type of historical fiction. I flip through the pages with a mix of worry and anticipation. But unlike the childish pen name, the first sentence of the chapter captures my attention.

-An untold story that is not recorded in the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty.

I cant even hear Ahn Jung-hyuns snoring next to me.

-This novel tells the life of Yi Yung and Yi Gyeol, the twin sons of Lady Yun, who is widely known as Yeonsan-gun. Which one of them was the tyrant depicted in history?