Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 209

The production company behind the drama “The Millennium’s Beloved” is ‘MediTree.’

If you just looked at the company on paper, MediTree seemed very new. They had some money, about 500 million won, and had only been a company for one year.

They had never made a drama before.

However, even though it looked like a new company, MediTree was starting to get noticed in the business world.

First, Kang So-jeong, who owned more than half of the shares, was the CEO of KSJ Entertainment, a company that was growing quickly. Also, everyone from the CEO to the staff had done impressive work in the past.

The CEO of MediTree was Yoo In-geon, a producer with lots of experience and a friend of So-jeong for many years.

Woo Min-cheol, who used to be the head of the KBC drama department, was listed as an outside director. He also owned 10 percent of MediTree’s shares.

Also, the team making “The Millennium’s Beloved” was PD Yoo In-geon’s team, who he had worked with for a long time.

So, MediTree wasn’t really a new company at all.

There was a good reason why this new company could get more than 10 billion won to invest in their drama without any problems.

“So, don’t worry, Director Im.”

“No, what did I say? I said that the story was incredibly interesting, so if we get good programming, it will be a huge hit.”

“I just said it. Director Woo—no, Director Woo used to be the head of KBC broadcasting station, remember?”

“Ah… So, the programming is already secured?”

“You can almost say so. It’s not officially fixed on paper yet, though.”

“Well, with the addition of actress Seong Ha-yeong this time, her being in the drama makes it more popular…”

On this day, the board members of MediTree were all traveling to Icheon in PD Yoo In-geon’s car.

The reason they were going to Icheon was to see the filming set for “The Millennium’s Beloved.”

Today was the day the set was finished, so the people who would be working there were coming to see it.

PD Yoo’s car was a large SUV with enough space for seven people.

The art director, the director of photography, and the lighting director were all in the car, making four people in total.

“Ugh… By the way, I’m suddenly a bit worried today.”

PD Yoo In-geon tilted his head at the director of photography’s words and asked,

“About what?”

“Well, when I looked at the blueprints, I liked the design quite a bit… I’m worried that the actual set might not look as good.”

“Visuals…?”

“Yes, this set is the most important place for filming, right?”

“That’s right.”

“How the set looks will change how the whole drama looks… I’m suddenly a bit worried.”

Yoo In-geon listened to the director of photography and nodded slowly.

The Icheon set was very important to the drama.

“What did CEO So-jeong say back then…?”

“About what, PD?”

“The set production cost.”

“Ah.”

“Didn’t they originally say they would spend about 1 billion won on the production cost?”

Yoo In-geon said, and the director of photography shook his head.

This was one of the reasons he was worried.

“We hardly spent any money on the set.”

“What…?”

“We were going to spend 1 billion won, but CEO Seo Woo-jin decided to invest in the drama by building the set instead of just giving money.”

“Wow, really?”

“That’s why I’m worried.”

“So CEO Seo Woo-jin is using his own money?”

The director of photography nodded.

“That’s right. The more he saves here, the more of his own money he saves, so I’m worried that he might have cut corners.”

His words made sense, and the others nodded.

They hadn’t thought much about it until they left for Icheon, but after hearing the director of photography’s worries, they thought it was possible.

PD Yoo In-geon hadn’t been worried because Seo Woo-jin, a famous designer, was in charge, but now he was starting to feel concerned.

“Hmm, CEO So-jeong said we could trust him, but…”

PD Yoo In-geon looked at the art director, who was quietly listening in the back seat.

“Wait. Hyeong-uk, you’ve already seen it a few times, haven’t you?”

Yoo In-geon asked, and the other two also looked at him.

Gu Hyeong-uk, the art director for “The Millennium’s Beloved,” had been in contact with WJ Studio several times while the set was being built.

He had already been to the filming set a few times.

Hyeong-uk felt everyone looking at him, scratched his head, and said slowly,

“Well, I’ve been there about twice.”

“Really? How was it?”

“Well, it was okay back then…”

“But?”

“Actually, the last time I came here was in January. The finishing work wasn’t done then, so today is the first time I’m seeing the real thing.”

“You must have been getting pictures all the time, right?”

“That’s…”

Hyeong-uk paused and then spoke again.

“When I saw it in the pictures, it was really amazing.”

“What was?”

“It was so stylish that I was shocked.”

“Really…? Can you show me those pictures?”

“I sent it as an official document in an email, so I don’t have it on my phone.”

“I see.”

“Anyway, that’s why I was really looking forward to it… But after hearing what the director of photography said, I’m worried that I might be disappointed.”

“You said the pictures were great, though?”

“Well, you can do anything with Photoshop in pictures.”

Yoo In-geon clicked his tongue at Hyeong-uk’s words.

It seemed like he would only know what it was like when he arrived and saw it himself.

“Hmm… I guess we’ll know when we go there today.”

The four people stopped talking about the set and started talking about something else. Meanwhile, Yoo In-geon’s car arrived at the Icheon site.

“PD, we’ve arrived.”

“Okay, thanks for the hard work.”

The four people, who seemed to have forgotten their worries about the set, got out of the car and started talking about a different topic.

“Did we come a bit early?”

“Looks like it. There’s still about twenty minutes left.”

“Let’s go in and take a look around first.”

“Shall we?”

“It’s okay to take a look first, right?”

“I guess so.”

They got out of the car, which was parked in the empty lot in front of the set, and walked towards the entrance.

The moment they walked past the tall fence and entered the set,

“…!”

“Wo, wow…!”

“Wait. What is this?”

The four people stopped in front of the large front door, as if they had planned it. It was so impressive that it made them forget all their worries.

“Wow, this is really crazy.”

So-jeong exclaimed, and Woo-jin looked confused and asked,

“What is it…?”

“So, you’re saying you did all this in just half a year?”

“It took exactly five months.”

“What on earth did you do?”

“What did I do? Well, I worked hard…”

Woo-jin answered, and So-jeong looked surprised.

It only took five months to build this large set.

The set was on a large site, but even though only part of it was finished, it was still a tight schedule.

Woo-jin had done an amazing job.

“It’s like saying you only read the textbook diligently…”

So-jeong looked around the entrance again, gave Woo-jin a thumbs up, and said,

“Really, I’m so glad I found you, CEO Seo.”

Woo-jin smiled and replied,

“Is CEO So-jeong satisfied?”

“Satisfied? Of course, I am.”

“You’ve only seen the entrance yet?”

“Actually, there’s no need to see everything.”

“Yes…?”

“That’s exactly the feeling I wanted! That’s it. It has to feel traditional and mysterious. And yet, it also has to have a bit of modern style…!”

Woo-jin smiled awkwardly as he watched So-jeong get excited.

So-jeong’s praise was nice, but her interpretation was a bit strange.

“As they say, interpretation is better than a dream… You can interpret this design like that too.”

Woo-jin was proud that the set was well-made.

He had tried to use design ideas from MediTree and had studied traditional architecture to capture the right feeling.

He had also worked hard because the project was fun.

The story of “The Millennium’s Beloved” gave Woo-jin, who had always designed modern buildings, a new challenge.

But he didn’t expect such a strong reaction.

He felt proud and happy.

“By the way, where did those people go?”

“What people are you talking about?”

“I saw a car parked as I came in.”

“Ah.”

“That’s PD Yoo’s car. I think the directors came with him…”

“I guess they’re looking around the set.”

“I guess so. Let’s go inside.”

Kang So-jeong kept praising Woo-jin and carefully looking at every part of the set as she walked inside.

“Really. It looks good no matter which way you turn the camera?”

Usually, when you hire someone to do this kind of work, it’s hard to get a better result than what you asked for.

But this set, which Woo-jin had created, was like a new work of art.

So-jeong was especially impressed by the details of the buildings.

“Look at the details. It’s really crazy.”

It was as if the writer of the drama had designed the building himself.

So-jeong had read the script more than ten times, but the details were brought to life everywhere in the building.

“It’s like they’ve created Cheonsingu, where Seo-hoo lives in the script, exactly as it is.”

This design could only be made by someone who really cared about the drama, not just someone who was hired to do a job.

So-jeong liked and trusted Woo-jin even more.

Woo-jin understood the drama so well because he was a big fan of “The Millennium’s Beloved.”

“Is this the main palace?”

“That’s right, CEO. This is where the first scene of “The Millennium’s Beloved” takes place.”

“Wow, there’s nothing to complain about, really. The director of photography will love it.”

Woo-jin felt good as he followed So-jeong, who kept praising the set.

“I’ve changed some of the parts that I didn’t like while watching the drama… I’m glad she likes it.”

He was happy that she liked the parts he was worried about, and it gave him more confidence in his design.

“If I show you the Cheonsin Tower that I built on the north side of the set, it’ll be worth seeing what kind of reaction you’ll have then.”

Woo-jin thought about his masterpiece and laughed.

The place where the main characters first meet, and where the best scene of “The Millennium’s Beloved” is filmed.

Woo-jin had put a lot of effort into designing this space.

After showing CEO Kang So-jeong a few more places, the Cheonsin Tower came into view.

There were already a few people there.