The day right after I sent the video.
I received an acceptance message from Director Bang Jin-gyu.
He said that he wanted to take on this project.
It seemed that he was most worried about whether I could cleanly express the images he envisioned.
“Man, if that’s the case, you should have first suggested a meeting.”
He seems to be rather cautious, as described by Uncle Chansu, who didn’t look like someone to be so careful.
“And the meeting and contract are in three days.”
Thus, the leader of the project was decided, and the schedule for the acting contract and related meetings was set for three days later.
This meeting was quite important since it was also planned to discuss the casting of other actors.
The acting contract was, after all, nothing special, but who would be cast in this drama was also important to me.
It’s not an abstract concern since it immediately affected who I would be acting with.
Everyone—the writer, the investors, and the production company and PD—all had their own ideas about casting, so it was expected to be a heated debate.
“As for me, I don’t really have any particular opinion.”
In fact, I don’t really understand why I was even called to this kind of meeting as I don’t personally know any actors and nor am I averse to any of them.
To be honest, even if Jo Yoo-shin is set to join this drama, it doesn’t bother me.
People probably don’t expect me to offer any useful opinions anyway.
So, I’ll just sign my contract and keep my seat while watching who wants which actor.
The day right after Director Bang Jin-gyu was decided as the PD for this project.
Heavenly Yuah and Yang Yuli had finally completed the final script after spending the night worrying about it.
How many revisions had they gone through?
Upon hearing Yang Yuli’s account, it seemed that even though they had gone through countless revisions, the final script ended up being quite similar to the initial version.
After all, it was like ending up back at the starting point.
Because Yang Yuli had revised certain parts in consideration of realism, tearing up in the process, and with Heavenly Yuah’s intervention, the script reverted back to its original form.
It was almost like the very first version of the Joseon Gold Rush.
I wondered what kind of work the Joseon Gold Rush Yang Yuli had originally envisioned might have been.
“So, I read it… and it’s a completely different story.”
The core storyline of the Joseon Gold Rush, which had aired as a drama, was about a Russian mechanical engineering student ‘Bison Choi’ and a Joseon outcast named Nam Seok-joo secretly mining Yunsan Gold Mine.
During the course of the story, they dealt with Qing and Japanese clandestine miners as well as the monsters lurking nearby, culminating in a grand chaos.
Ultimately, the Joseon royal family even intervened, right?
Though trouble arose in various places, eventually, the two main characters secured the mining rights to the Yunsan Gold Mine, completing the gold rush successfully in the ending of the drama.
It wasn’t particularly filled with soft, romantic sentiments, but protecting the mine from the Qing, Japan, and monsters while also navigating the Joseon royal family’s concerns brought a thrilling aspect.
People naturally love doing things secretly, right?
And if that thing is gold? It’s definitely a thrilling subject.
I even felt strangely proud whenever the protagonists of the drama accumulated a bit more mined gold.
Even though it wasn’t my gold, mind you.
But with the addition of Lee Myung and Violet, the story took a completely different direction.
Violet, an investigator from ‘Arcane Goldberg Company’ who held the mining rights to Yunsan Gold Mine, officially requested the Joseon royal court to include Lee Myung, the illegitimate son of the royal family, in the exploration team.
These two joining forces to develop the Yunsan Gold Mine became the core storyline of the drama.
As this development unfolded, the previous main characters lost their original spots.
Of course, Violet and Lee Myung recruited the previous main characters, Bison Choi and Nam Seok-joo, into the exploration team, but their roles became significant supporting characters.
The existing plot points, such as interference from Japan and Qing and the monsters, remained, but with entirely different protagonists, it could be said that this had become a completely different drama compared to the past.
“Huh, thinking about it now, it’s quite amusing. Surely it can’t be?”
Yahui Lee during the New Religion era particularly disliked the Namgung family among the orthodoxy factions, for no apparent reason—just because.
However, talking about this character, Nam Seok-joo.
The owner of Changcheon Group is Namgong Seokju and they share the same name.
Not only does he have the same last name which is rare, but this character is set as an outcast.
There was some kind of eerie malevolent feeling, you know?
This seemed so odd that I asked if there were any particular feelings towards the Changcheon Group, but apparently, there wasn’t any.
Judging by their reaction—”Oh, is that Namgong Seokju? Could this be a problem?”—it didn’t seem intentional.
I, too, thought it wasn’t significant enough to cause any trouble, so I figured it was just a coincidence and let it go.
But knowing Yahui Lee from the Martial Forest, I began to suspect if this character’s rejection was instinctive.
“Instinctively. Maybe this story…”
There was another reason why I thought this way, and it was because of Lee Myung and Wolhee’s story.
In the story without Violet (the first revised version where Lee Myung was added), Lee Myung and Wolhee beautifully progress their love and end with a happy conclusion.
But in the final version with Violet’s inclusion, the story ends rather bittersweetly.
This story was oddly familiar to me, making me feel quite strange.
Especially since Yahui Lee also knew this story, it added to the sensation.
Of course, I know this is a coincidence, but it’s quite curious, isn’t it?
“Feels melancholic. Truly melancholic.”
“Suddenly, why are you feeling melancholic?”
“Aah, Senior Yuah.”
Ah, you startled me.
While a momentarily nostalgic sadness came over me, causing me to bite my lips, Senior Heavenly Yuah appeared behind me as usual.
She’s really good at surprising people.
Plus, her steps are so light that it’s nearly impossible to sense her approach when I’m even slightly distracted.
Which means, when I’m lost in thought like today, there’s no avoiding it.
“Aha, you’re reading the script. How’s it? I liked it very much.”
“Yes, I thought it was good, but…”
“But?”
“There’s something that bothers me about Lee Myung and Wolhee not having a happy ending.”
“Oh, that.”
“Do you know anything about it?”
“They say it’s because it’s written with Season 2 in mind.”
“Ah, Season 2?”
“Yes, although the main male and female characters are top-billed, there is no romance between them, you see.”
“Isn’t there? The male protagonist’s romance is with Wolhee.”
“Exactly, and that’s the trigger for Season 2.”
“Aah, I see.”
Looking at this script, there are no discernible romantic feelings between the main characters, Lee Myung and Violet.
Although their camaraderie as comrades intensifies as the episodes progress, it has more of a bromance feel than romance.
Recalling most Korean dramas where romance naturally follows the appearance of male and female protagonists, this was quite an unconventional progression.
It seems that Yang Yuli plans to develop romance between the two main characters in Season 2.
“This is the setup.”
“Exactly.”
“Besides, when thinking about Wolhee’s fate, Season 2…”
“Probably so, right?”
If my prediction is correct, if this drama extends to Season 2, its setting would likely be the United States.
Set against a backdrop that’s much more advanced than Joseon, filled with impressive steam punk artifacts, it could produce wonderful reactions if aired on OTT after the success of Season 1, with the United States as the backdrop for Season 2.
“Fairly shrewd planning, and it’s plausible.”
“I thought the same too. Of course, whether Season 2 gets produced will depend on the situation.”
If they’ve strategized and pulled out the story thus, it would probably be best not to dwell on irrelevant thoughts.
This kind of story isn’t particularly rare.
Though I still feel a bit uncomfortable, connecting it to memories from the Martial Forest and sighing is probably something I should avoid.
After all, all those events are in the past—things that can no longer be undone.
After practicing the completed script a little with Heavenly Yuah, two days flew by quickly.
We eventually had a meeting with Bang Jin-gyu and the Phoenix Studio team.
The meeting location was Flame Entertainment’s building.
Since this meeting was expected to be lengthy, requiring a private spot for discussion, it was decided that the Phoenix team would visit here.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Was your trip here difficult?”
“No, your building is quite distinctive, so I easily found it.”
“That’s fortunate.”
There were three people from Phoenix Studios.
Bang Jin-gyu, who took full responsibility for this work (though it’s more fitting to call him PD since this is a drama), along with one production manager and one finance manager.
Interestingly, the production manager who participated this time was Uncle Chansu.
What a small world, huh?
A relative I often met at my father’s shop showed up as a production manager, making this a rather novel experience for me.
Of course, this was a formal setting, so I refrained from acknowledging any personal connection.
“Let’s first check the actor contracts. We’ll start with actress Heavenly Yuah. Others, perhaps we could…”
“It’s fine. I already know all the terms.”
We primarily reviewed the actors’ guarantees.
This was explained to me beforehand by Team Leader Seo.
My per-episode base guarantee was set at 500, which, while unusually high for a rookie, is ridiculously low for a protagonist.
I don’t have any complaints.
After all, it’s almost unheard of for a newcomer to land a lead role outright, and even if they do, it’s rarely a significant payout.
Realistically speaking, to receive 500 per episode for my history is a generous offer.
“Besides, this isn’t everything.”
Interestingly, there were some generous bonus clauses in this contract.
There are bonuses based on ratings for TV and ranking for OTT.
It’s a bit complicated, but ultimately, this contract could potentially reach up to 5000 per episode.
Of course, that would require achieving a 30% rating or ranking first in all countries where the OTT is available.
But for me, who firmly believes that this drama will produce meaningful results, there’s no reason to reject this contract.
“But really, will this suffice?”
“Yes, of course. Since I made the offer.”
“But Heavenly Yuah is asking for 100 million per episode?”
“There are options attached.”
“But this…”
Interestingly, Heavenly Yuah also received a contract packed with bonus options, similar to mine.
Even though male actors generally command higher fees than female actors, Heavenly Yuah was on another level.
Heavenly Yuah agreeing to a 100 million per episode contract seemed to leave them in shock.
Of course, they also had generous bonuses, and in the same conditions as mine, it could increase up to 500 million.
Heavenly Yuah can easily clear 3 to 4 million even without the bonus, considering the works she takes.
It will be quite interesting to see how much she earns after finishing this project.
“Alright, let’s discuss the roles. As expected, casting is the biggest issue…”
After finalizing the contracts, we moved on to discuss casting.
This was the primary reason we were all gathered here today.
I intended to remain silent no matter what opinions others voiced.
“Among other things, for Nam Seok-ju, I’d prefer actor Nam Hyun-ho for the role.”
“…Nam hyun-ho?”
Right from the start, a character that tensed my brow appeared.
Yang Yuli, really? Nam Hyun-ho? Is that really appropriate?
What exactly are you planning to shoot?
