Page 80 of Flip the Script


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Chapter 32

EARLY NEXT MORNING, WE GET CALLED IN FORanother emergency meeting at the company headquarters. At first I think it’s Mr. Kim who called the meeting, but when I enter the auditorium, I see that everyone is thereexceptMr. Kim. An elderly company representative named Mr. Kang is sitting at the front of the room, along with Director Cha and the other producers. Mr. Choi, the lead writer, is also present, as are all of our cast and crew members. I even see people I don’t recognize, probably because they work in postproduction. Almost everyone in the studio conference room looks worn out, like the last several days have taken a toll on them.

I feel guilty for the trouble I’ve caused them, but I remind myself that I’m not the one who selfishly decided to suspend the show.

When I take a seat with my friends, everyone’s eyes dart toward Minjee and me. I try to ignore the attention as best as I can.

Mr. Kang comes up to stand in the middle of the stage, the place where Mr. Kim would usually be.

Murmurs erupt from everyone present, and Mr. Kang raises his hands to motion for people to settle down.

“Thank you for gathering here today,” he says, his raspy voice the complete opposite of Mr. Kim’s booming one. “Some of you know who I am, but for those who don’t, my name is Kang Byun-Ho and I am the CEO and founder of SBC Studios.”

My jaw drops, and I’m not the only one that’s shocked by the revelation. The only people that don’t look surprised are the creative heads like Director Cha. I’ve only heard the name Kang Byun-Ho before, but never had a face to match to the name.

Mr. Kang coughs while waiting for the room to settle down again.

“I am here to announce that Mr. Kim is no longer with the company,” he says. “He has been asked to step down from his position, and we are now in the process of finding someone to replace him. We at SBC were shocked by the recent revelations of the business decisions he made regardingFated Destiny, and we apologize for any inconvenience they may have caused.”

Minjee squeezes my hand, and I squeeze hers back. All of this sounds too good to be true.

“And after much deliberation,” Mr. Kang continues, “we made the unanimous decision to resume the show.”

The whole room erupts into cheers. People get up from their seats to clap, and Director Cha crosses himself while looking at the ceiling.

“We did it!” I yell, pulling both Bryan and Minjee into a group hug. We jump up and down together. It feels like Christmas all over again.

“I’ve been told that you are almost done with principal photography. We weren’t able to premiere new episodes last week because of what happened, of course, but the viewership numbers for both broadcast and streaming reruns are stronger than ever despite the...” Mr. Kang trails off and gives us a pointed glance. “... scandal. Or perhapsbecause ofit. We are still looking into exactly what caused this newfound interest in our show.”

I tense up but resist the urge to comment.

This is still a win, I tell myself.No matter what people may think of Minjee and me.

“But yes, thank you so much for your patience as we came to this decision. Principal photography will resume tomorrow, and we will wrap within the next few weeks. We ask for your complete dedication until then. Thank you.”

Everyone’s happy and relieved faces fill me with so much warmth. It feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

But as grateful as I am that the show is quite literally going on, I remember there’s still a lot more work we need to do.

“Hey,” I say, turning back to my friends. “Let’s go talk to Mr. Choi and Director Cha since they’re both here. We need to fix the ending. More so now after everything that’s happened.”

“Do you think they’ll really listen to us?” Minjee asks.

I shrug. “It’s worth a shot. If all three of us approach them, they should at least hear us out, right?”

“True,” Bryan says. “Okay, let’s go.”

We head down to the front row of the auditorium, where Mr. Choi and Director Cha are deep in some discussion about the logistics of the show. Mr. Choi is much smaller than the director, who looks like a giant next to the frail old man with huge glasses.

“Mr. Choi? And Director Cha?” I say, glancing at first the writer and then the director. “Could we speak with you two for a moment?”

Both Mr. Choi and Director Cha blink in surprise at us three. Director Cha looks amused, while Mr. Choi’s eyebrows are creased with concern.

It’s then that I realize that this is one of the only times I’ve ever directly interacted with Director Cha off set. Without his director’s chair and the playback monitor in front of him, he looks like such a normal guy, dressed in a sweater vest and plaid shirt like he’s just someone’s dad.

Is Director Cha someone’s dad?I wonder. I realize that I have no idea, even though I spent a good chunk of timeworking on the show with him. Director Cha never really talks about his own personal life, and in general, sets are weird like that. You spendmonthswith the same group of people to the extent that you know countless random details about their lives, but don’t know about many others.

“Yes, Hana,” Director Cha says. “What is it?”

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