Chapter 67: Genius Writer vs. Genius Actor (5)
He could have waited for someone else to take revenge for him, or for the man to self-destruct on his own, but sitting still was not Kim Si-woo’s style.
Kim Si-woo pulled out his smartphone and called CBS’s Pyo Bong-soo.
“Hello? Yes, Director. How have you been?”
—Oh my, of course. Thanks to you, Writer-nim, the drama department has been in great spirits these days.
“Then… may I ask a small favor?”
—Yes, yes! Go ahead.
Kim Si-woo asked Pyo Bong-soo to arrange a variety show appearance for him along with the Gangster Detective team members. Pyo Bong-soo actually replied that it was such an easy request that there was no reason it couldn’t be done.
—If anything, I feel like we should be asking you for favors instead.
“Haha. Anyway, I’ll take that as a yes.”
—Of course. Don’t worry. I’ll contact you soon.
Up until now, Kim Si-woo had declined every broadcast appearance request coming from all directions.
To be honest, if his face became too well known, it would disrupt his daily life and increase the chances of getting caught up in troublesome situations.
There was a reason people said “being rich while no one knows you is the best.”
The more public attention you received, the more careful you had to be—
Because it made you a target of envy and jealousy.
“That bastard Choi Do-hyun… this time I’m going to cut off his breathing for good.”
A few days later, after coordinating with Pyo Bong-soo over the phone, Kim Si-woo scheduled the variety show recording and headed to the broadcasting station.
“You’ve arrived, Writer-nim?”
The moment he arrived in front of the station, PD Kim Jin-man—who already knew he was coming—was waiting for him.
“Why are you coming out to greet me on a day like this?”
“Come on~ If I don’t come out, who will? Besides, it’s your first variety program appearance today. I should look after you.”
After the drama Our Teacher ended, Kim Jin-man’s status had risen greatly, and he had even taken the position of Director of the Drama Department.
“Fortunately, today’s PD in charge is one of my juniors, so I’ll make sure he takes good care of things.”
“Hahaha. Thank you.”
Kim Si-woo felt a bit pressured, but he accepted the gesture, telling himself to just go with it.
Following Kim Jin-man’s guidance, they reached the waiting room inside the station, where Ha Seung-woo and Park Jun-ho had already arrived and were waiting.
“You guys got here early.”
“Writer-nim, you’re here?”
“Oh, welcome.”
Park Jun-ho greeted Si-woo with a face much brighter than before, and Ha Seung-woo welcomed him with a warm smile as well.
While waiting for the filming preparations, everyone in the waiting room was busy cursing out Choi Do-hyun.
“So about that… this time, I’m planning to step in personally.”
“Huh? What exactly are you planning to do?”
“I’m just going to give him exactly what he gave.”
When he said exactly what he gave, both Park Jun-ho and Ha Seung-woo felt a vague sense of unease, but assuming Si-woo had some plan in mind, they didn’t question him further.
As they continued chatting to pass the time, the PD entered the waiting room announcing that preparations were complete and guided them to the studio.
“Well then, let’s all do a quick ‘fighting’ before we go.”
“Alright. Fighting!”
“Fighting!”
And so, Kim Si-woo’s first variety show began.
Thanks to Pyo Bong-soo’s consideration, even though it was Si-woo’s first time, it wasn’t an overwhelming variety show—just a talk program.
There was no need to sing, dance, or show off personal skills as a talent performance.
They only needed to follow the flow and talk well.
Eventually, the topic Si-woo had been waiting for came up.
“Actually, we also saw the movie. It’s such a shame that it unfortunately lost to The King Has Changed this time.”
One of the panelists brought up the movie.
“But it’s fine. We made more money anyway. Honestly, that film was rated 15+, while ours was adults-only. A difference of only 1,300 viewers with that rating advantage… hm… well, let’s just say, anyone in the film industry knows we’re the real winners. Yet that person kept desperately rationalizing on his own.”
Si-woo immediately opened his mouth, fully prepared to counterattack.
“To be honest, I didn’t really want to bring this up here, but lately someone’s been constantly taking shots at me. Even though I’ve never met him in person… it’s really absurd.”
Once he opened the topic, the panelists nodded in understanding and focused on Kim Si-woo. He continued.
“And movies aren’t something a single actor, or a single writer, or a single director makes alone. Artists and experts in each field come together to create one project. But he talks as if he did everything by himself.”
At Si-woo’s words, another panelist threw out a question.
“Then if that person asked you to work on a project together, would you accept?”
“No. Even if he said he wouldn’t take any appearance fee, I still wouldn’t do it. I tend to hold grudges for a long time. Ah! And from now on, I don’t plan to get involved with anyone connected to him, no matter who it is. Hahaha.”
Although Kim Si-woo said this with an awkward laugh, it was actually a very serious matter in both the film and drama industries.
He had already proven his value and talent through three successful movies.
At this point, he was a guaranteed box-office hit—literally a verified ticket-seller.
“Ah… hahaha. This is scary. A declaration of war from the genius writer…”
The main MC hurriedly tried to pass it off as a joke, but not a single person in the studio thought of it as a joke on the inside.
Because what Kim Si-woo said carried a weight that demanded responsibility.
After that, the broadcast wrapped up peacefully as they talked about their group training in Jeju Island and the people they each visited to study their roles.
“Good work, everyone.”
“Thanks for your hard work.”
When the recording ended, everyone exchanged farewells.
Kim Si-woo was among them, and as he was greeting people on his way out, the main MC approached him to speak privately.
“Writer Kim Si-woo, thank you for your hard work today.”
“Oh no, not at all. I’m the one making things difficult for everyone.”
“It might be strange to say this when it’s our first meeting, but… being too openly hostile toward someone may not always be good. One day, they might be helpful. And when you make enemies, they tend to increase. I’ve heard the full story, but in situations like this, ignoring them is the answer. That guy will probably isolate himself even if no one touches him.”
If a celebrity with 20 years of broadcast experience said this, it was almost guaranteed that the person in question was drifting away from success.
But that wasn’t the point for Kim Si-woo.
“At first, I planned to ignore him… but he keeps messing with the people around me. Before he ruins himself, I want to send him off personally. The result may be the same, but the process is different. In writing, the beginning and end matter, but the middle process is important too.”
“Hahaha… Well, I hope everything goes well for you.”
“Thank you.”
But the person in the most difficult position was the PD in charge of this variety show.
If they aired the content without cuts, Choi Do-hyun’s extreme fans would surely set the forum on fire.
So the PD planned to edit out the parts where Kim Si-woo mentioned Choi Do-hyun.
That is, until Si-woo approached him.
“Um… PD-nim?”
“Yes? Yes, Writer-nim?”
“Could you… please air the parts where I mentioned Actor Choi Do-hyun without editing? Honestly, that’s the whole reason I came today.”
Kim Si-woo was now being shielded by two powerful figures at CBS:
His senior, Kim Jin-man—who had recently become influential—and Director Pyo Bong-soo.
Refusing his request would almost certainly put a mark against the PD with both the current and the likely next head of production.
But accepting his request meant an inevitable warzone in the comments section.
“Ah… well…”
Seeing the PD hesitate, unable to answer immediately, Si-woo persuaded him.
“I’ll take responsibility. I’ll make sure you suffer as little damage as possible.”
“Ah… understood.”
“If something comes up, just say I asked you to leave it in.”
After persuading the PD, Kim Si-woo did not go home but instead headed to the Si-woo Film office.
When he arrived, it seemed everyone was having a meeting—they were gathered in one place discussing various things.
“Writer-nim?”
“Uh… finish the meeting first.”
Si-woo passed by them and entered his office, waiting for the meeting to end.
About an hour later, when the meeting wrapped up, Lee Yoo-jin came into his office.
“Writer-nim, the meeting is over.”
“Good. Then let’s talk for a bit.”
“Yes.”
Once Lee Yoo-jin sat down, Kim Si-woo sat across from her.
“How’s the YouTube channel doing these days?”
“View counts have dropped compared to before, but thanks to Soo-yeon’s popularity, it’s still being maintained.”
When celebrity guests stopped appearing, the views began to decline, but fortunately, Hong Soo-yeon was filling that gap quite well.
“That’s good. What about Soo-yeon? Has her acting gotten better?”
“Soo-yeon? Yes, she’s improved. But it’s a bit…”
“What? Is something wrong?”
When Lee Yoo-jin hesitated, Si-woo grew worried, thinking something had happened to Hong Soo-yeon.
“It’s a problem, yes… but more like… she’s too perfect. Honestly, I don’t think she even needs to attend acting classes anymore.”
“Even compared to the actors I brought in?”
“In my opinion… she’s probably about the same.”
“Really? Then when is Soo-yeon’s next shoot?”
Lee Yoo-jin explained that the next shoot was in three days, and also mentioned that the existing team members were learning various things from the newly hired experienced staff, improving rapidly.
“I’m glad they’re adapting well. Ah, and in about two weeks, things are going to get a little troublesome.”
“Huh? Why?”
Kim Si-woo told her about filming at the broadcasting station earlier today, his appearance on the variety show, and that Choi Do-hyun’s extreme fans would likely swarm them soon.
“Ah… so that’s why you dressed up today….”
Surprisingly, Lee Yoo-jin reacted calmly—rather than focusing on the trouble coming, she focused more on why he had dressed up nicely.
“You’re taking this more calmly than I expected.”
“If anyone crosses the line, we’ll just sue them. It’s whatever.”
“Ah… uh-huh.”
Her answer was so similar to something he would say that it made goosebumps rise on Si-woo’s arms.
Before leaving the office, Kim Si-woo made her an offer.
“Yoo-jin, want to work together on the next movie?”
“Huh? What did you just…?”
Hearing the words work together on the next movie, Lee Yoo-jin’s mind went blank.
“I asked if you want to prepare the next movie with me. The YouTube channel might get a little neglected, but think of it as investing in your future.”
“I’ll do it! Absolutely, I’ll do it! Please let me do it!”
Lee Yoo-jin’s original dream had always been to become a movie director.
Not that being a web-drama director for YouTube was bad—
But her dream was to someday see a movie she directed playing in theaters.
And to someone like that, working with Kim Si-woo—a man known as the maker of ten-million-ticket films—wasn’t a step toward her dream; it was practically arriving right at the doorstep.
A chance to work with top actors and top staff was not something she could ever refuse.
“Alright. Finish this web drama cleanly… and then let’s take a break from YouTube for a bit.”
Si-woo knew Yoo-jin was ambitious about movies, so he purposely made the offer—but he didn’t expect her to be this happy.
“Okay. I’ll come back in three days, so be ready.”
“Yes!”
But there was something Kim Si-woo didn’t know yet.
He still had one more film awards ceremony left.
Meaning… he had one more chance to shoot at Choi Do-hyun without anyone interfering.
And there was also another unexpected ally remaining….
Three days later, when Kim Si-woo arrived at the web drama set, he was very satisfied watching the team move around busily.
Of course, it would be nice if their goal were purely web dramas, but he was sure some of them—like Yoo-jin—were more interested in film or TV drama work.
‘The actors too… some replacement will be necessary. This might be a good opportunity to reorganize.’
As he was thinking this over, Hong Soo-yeon suddenly came up beside him, grabbing his shoulder in an attempt to startle him.
“Ajusshi!”
“You’re here?”
“Ah….”
His calm reaction left Hong Soo-yeon deflated.
Ignoring her sulky response, Si-woo spoke.
“How’s your condition today?”
“Oh, I’m always good. Since I sleep six hours a day, I’m less tired.”
“Make it eight hours if you can.”
“I’ll… try.”
Hong Soo-yeon felt a bit offended by Si-woo’s tone, which still treated her like a kid, but thinking of it as a sign of concern made it not so bad.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering why Si-woo—who rarely visited—had suddenly come to the set today.
She asked.
“More importantly, why did you come today?”
“Because of you.”
“Huh? B-because of me?”
Hong Soo-yeon’s startled voice echoed across the set.