Return of the Genius PD

Chapter 2

Kang Sung-oh, the Production Team 3 Leader, found the situation utterly unfamiliar.

No.

Anyone who knew Ji-won would have found it strange.

So he instinctively asked again,

"Did I just hear that wrong?"

"You heard correctly, sir."

Do Ji-won.

From his very first day, he had been full of passion, always going above and beyond what was asked of him.

That’s why, when the sudden news of his transfer to the Strategic Planning Team came, Sung-oh had secretly felt upset, too.

"I said I'm resigning."

The dazed expression on Ji-won’s face shifted suddenly, replaced by a firm declaration of his resignation.

‘Resign...?’

"Hey, Ji-won. I think you're being a bit emotional right now. Why don’t you take the day off to think things through calmly, and we can talk again tomorrow?"

Ji-won nodded, his face expressionless.

"Alright. Since I’m taking time off anyway, I’ll use some of my unused vacation days."

"Vacation?"

"Yes, as you suggested, I need time to organize my thoughts."

Just as Sung-oh was about to respond with a bewildered, "Uh, sure..."

"But."

Ji-won added with a faint smile,

"Although I'll think it over carefully, I don't believe my decision will change."

* * *

As soon as the conversation ended, I left the company building without a plan. As I walked, memories of what had just happened at the office replayed in my mind.

‘Then I'd rather resign.’

A smile spread across my face.

It was a phrase I’d kept in my heart for 20 years but had never dared to say aloud. Saying it, even if only in a dream, was oddly satisfying.

It was a good dream.

Just as I was about to close my eyes, thinking that...

‘Dream?’

But can a dream feel this vivid?

I stopped in my tracks, suddenly uneasy. Glancing at my reflection in a nearby store window, I froze.

Young.

It was my face from 20 years ago, unchanged. Exactly as I remembered. Can a dream truly be this vivid?

‘Squeeze.’

I pinched my cheek.

"It hurts..."

I tried pinching harder.

"It still hurts...?"

A blank expression crossed my face as I muttered,

"Why..."

It was something that simply defied common sense.

"Why does it hurt...?"

My cheek throbbed from the pinch.

‘Could it be?’

Had I really gone back to the past? Back 20 years?

Without hesitation, I pulled out my smartphone to check the date.

[September 14, 2017]

This was the kind of situation that only happens to protagonists in TV dramas or movies.

After pondering for a moment how this could have happened,

‘Oh?’

Suddenly, a familiar face flashed in my mind.

Father!

Without wasting another second, I started running toward the bus terminal.

* * *

I spent the entire night on the express bus. Only when the morning sun rose did I finally arrive in my hometown.

-Creak.

I carefully opened the front door of my family home after the long journey.

"What? What are you doing here at this hour?" my father asked, looking puzzled.

He was sitting down to breakfast, dressed in nothing but his underwear.

"Aren't you going to work?"

"Huh...?"

"Did you quit your job?"

Seeing his face, one I'd longed for in my dreams, made me laugh suddenly. I kicked off my shoes, tossed them aside, and ran toward him.

"Father!"

I hugged him tightly, and he immediately reacted, bewildered.

"Have you gone mad? What are you doing, being all sentimental like this?"

He struggled against my embrace, clearly confused.

"Please, just stay still."@@@@

Despite my plea, he overpowered me with ease, pushing me away with surprising strength.

‘Is this physical strength for real...?’

It seemed he was still in great shape at this time.

"Goodness, it's nothing. A grown man being all sentimental like this."

This was the father who, in my last memories of him, could no longer even hold a spoon. That frail image of him had stayed with me.

"Wow, Dad. You're still as strong as ever."

'In this life...'

I promised myself, again and again, that I wouldn’t repeat that mistake. I wouldn’t let him slip away and regret it for the rest of my life.

'Oh? Come to think of it...'

Suddenly, my eyes fell on the USB in my hand.

The same USB I had pulled out just before coming back.

It held the scripts I had written over the last 20 years, the ones I had planned to show Kim Hyung-seok.

If...

if all the files were really still there...

I connected the USB to my computer without hesitation.

[New Volume (E:)]

Just as I was about to explore the contents,

"Oh my God..."

I buried my face in my hands.

Every script, every proposal I had written over those two decades was intact. Neatly organized in a folder tree, just the way I had left them.

But it wasn’t just the scripts.

I had the instincts of a seasoned planner, honed over a lifetime.

The instincts that had propelled me to the position of vice president at the broadcasting station.

For a moment, it felt like I could hear bright, triumphant music in the distance.

The sound of victory.

* * *

Scratching my belly, I pondered.

‘What’s the fastest way to make my directorial debut from this point?’

Years of experience from my past life quickly helped me calculate the shortest route.

Fourth-year PD.

Decent experience, but still...

Too early for a directorial debut.

It was an awkward, in-between stage.

‘Then... I need to carve out my own ‘hidden route’—a path others can’t take.’

For example...

'What if I debut as a drama writer first?'

I immediately turned on the computer and accessed JTVN's homepage.

I remembered it was around this time...

-Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh.

The scrolling that had been going on for a while suddenly stopped.

[In This Life, I’m a Drama Writer?!]

There it was: a blind writer discovery project directly hosted by JTVN, the same broadcasting station I was working for.

Age? Irrelevant.

Experience? Irrelevant

The competition was blind. The winner would be decided based purely on their synopsis and the first episode script. All you had to provide besides the script was a pen name and contact details.

'There's no rule saying internal employees can't apply, right?'

Moreover, the grand prize wasn’t just a 50 million won cash award. The real prize was...

[Confirmed drama production by JTVN.]

They guaranteed the winner’s drama would get produced.

I remembered.

There had been so many submissions at the time that the staff worked overtime and pulled night shifts, swamped with emails.

'This is it!'

Suddenly, the countless scripts I had written in my past life flashed through my mind, scripts that had never seen the light of day.

Kim Hyeong-seok’s words, spoken with a bitter smile, echoed in my head.

“Are you still writing scripts?”

“It's because I’ve never seen talent as bright as yours.”

Whether those words were true or not didn’t matter now.

This was the perfect chance to find out.

I closed my eyes.

There’s an old saying: “A needle in a pouch will eventually poke through.”

It means that talent, no matter how hidden, will eventually reveal itself.

But in this industry, skill isn’t enough. Timing is everything, and the ability to ride trends is just as important.

I needed to think of the broadcasting station as my client.

'What kind of drama does our station need the most right now...?'

2017.

It was a time when cable channels, led by general programming networks, were rising fast, challenging the dominance of terrestrial networks.

Then...

I opened one of the many files stored in the USB.

16 episodes.

A medical drama, with just the right balance of melodrama and romance.

Out of all my scripts...

This was the one JTVN would need the most.