Chapter 96:
Chapter 96
A ferry carrying passengers approaches the shore, while seagulls watch from above.
Amid the thick accents of the Jagalchi fishmongers, who sound like background music, live fish on red trays dance as if they have forgotten the seasons.
Between the scenes of the market, where the lives of our people are reflected, two women walk together.
“Choi sunbae, do you really have to do this?”
Assistant writer Kim Eun-young doesn’t understand.
She has been working with Choi Eun-sook for four years already. In the broadcasting world, Choi Eun-sook is known as a ‘ratings machine’.
She hasn’t been in the industry for long, but she has already earned the title of a top writer.
There’s no doubt that she’s an amazing writer.
“Why, don’t you like it?”
“Can I say something as a friend, not as an assistant writer? I mean, for your next work, there must be tons of actors who would want to do it. Why do you have to come all the way to Busan? You don’t know your own worth, sunbae.”
“It’s nice to get some fresh air once in a while.”
Writer Choi Eun-sook went to Songwon Entertainment right after finishing the first draft of ‘Yeonsan, the King’s Secret’.
She had written the script with only Jang Young-guk in mind, so she wanted him to be the first one to see it. But the answer she got from the agency was disappointing.
There were no actors available, and the CEO was on a business trip.
“Do you think Jangdolbaengi can rest when he has no guests? If not, he has to go where the guests are. And you can’t miss the actor I’m going to meet this time. I was going to come with PD Yoo, but he’s too busy. The people at the broadcasting station are not very helpful either. I’m not going to send the script to the station until I get a definite answer.”
“You’re really stubborn, like a bull.”
“Wait and see, even Geumgangsan is a sight after a meal.”
There are countless delicacies from the sea at Jagalchi.
From shark meat and raw fish, to sea urchin roe that is hard to find at a cheap price in Seoul.
Among them, the most tempting thing is the grilled eel, which is cooked over charcoal until golden and crispy.
The smell of the first roast is already vibrating.
“Eun-young, do you know why grilled eel is called gomjangeo?”
“I don’t know, isn’t it just a dialect?”
“It’s because they wriggle like bears, so they’re called gomjangeo. You know, there’s an old saying, the smell of grilled eel can bring back a runaway daughter-in-law.”
She makes up all kinds of excuses when she’s hungry.
Kim Eun-young shakes her head as she looks at Choi Eun-sook’s back. She looks like a typical tourist.
As they open the door of the restaurant, they meet a familiar face.
Did I see wrong?
Choi Eun-sook rubs her eyes and looks again.
It’s a man in a suit, smiling kindly, eating grilled eel.
It’s Songwon Entertainment.
“Mr. Kim?”
***
Yeongdo.
“Mom, it’s winter now, so there’s not much to bring. I brought some underwear and thermal underwear.”
“Oh, why did you buy all this? You could have just come as you are…”
“It’s rude to come empty-handed when I haven’t seen you in a long time. By the way, do you remember who I am?”
“Of course, how can I forget such a welcome face. You’re writer Choi Eun-sook, aren’t you?”
Unexpected guests have arrived.
From Kim Sung-hwan, the CEO who she thought was in Seoul, to writer Choi Eun-sook.
It’s late and they came suddenly, but the mother seems to like Choi Eun-sook, who treats her warmly.
Rather, she smiles non-stop as the empty house is filled with people.
“Just wait a minute, I’ll cut some fruit for you.”
“Then I’ll help you, mom.”
“Oh, I can do it by myself, don’t hurt your young hands, just sit down.”
Despite the mother’s protest, assistant writer Kim Eun-young follows her to the kitchen.
Kim Sung-hwan, who is sitting across from them, looks awkward. Jang Young-guk, who can’t stand his curiosity, asks.
“CEO, you said you were on a business trip. Was it Busan? If that’s the case, why didn’t you come with me?”
“Well, it just happened that way. I ran into writer Choi at Jagalchi and we came together. She said she came all the way from Seoul to see you, so how could I leave her alone as the CEO?”
Choi Eun-sook has a serious expression on her face. She doesn’t beat around the bush and gets straight to the point.
“Young-guk, let’s work together on this next project.”
“What are you talking about? I’m already in PD Yoo’s historical drama.”
“That historical drama’s writer is me. I finished the first draft of the script and I wanted to show it to you so badly. I was going to come down with PD Yoo this time, but he’s too busy to come right now, so I came alone. I wrote the script with you in mind, but I’m worried that something might go wrong. I need to trust the people at the broadcasting station.”
“Wait a minute, are you saying that Choi Kang-gondu is you?”
Choi Eun-sook’s face turns red in an instant.
Kim Sung-hwan, the CEO, still looks confused.
She coughs lightly and nods briefly.
The selection of a historical drama for the next project is still a secret.
There are still negotiations for the casting fee, and she hasn’t even seen the script properly.
“First, take a look at the script. If you can’t pay me what I deserve, I’ll cut ties with MBS this time.”
“Aren’t you being too emotional, writer? Or are you trying to tell me something?”
“It means that you’re desperate.”
Choi, the writer, laughs and changes the subject.
“By the way, Young-guk, you took the college entrance exam this time, right? I was so busy that I couldn’t even send you a congratulatory rice cake. The media said the test was very hard this time. You must have checked your score, how did you do?”
“It was similar to usual.”
“What? You’re always the top student in your school, I was so surprised when I saw the star documentary. I knew you were smart when I saw you memorizing the script, but I didn’t know you were good at studying too. Anyway, you’re amazing. The CEO should have done some marketing earlier. This mask, and the top student, are good materials.”
Isn’t this the era when everything about celebrities is gossip?
That means that the public’s interest in their ups and downs is high.
At that moment, Choi Eun-sook asks curiously.
“But what do you mean by similar to usual?”
Kim Sung-hwan, the CEO, also looks curious.
Of course, the test taker doesn’t say a word.
***
Korea Institute of Curriculum and Evaluation.
It’s the season when the cold wind makes your limbs curl up.
Other workers are preparing for the year-end party (忘年會) and creating a festive atmosphere, but the institute is different.
As they oversee and supervise the entire curriculum of Korea’s education, they are bone-tired by this time of year.
That’s why the winter is called the season of pain among the institute’s staff.
They not only prepare for the college entrance exam that determines the admission of the ivory tower (象牙塔) called university, but also their work continues even after the exam is over.
They check for any possible errors in the questions, and deal with any incidents that occurred at the test site on the day of the exam.
They are also criticized by the media depending on the difficulty of the test, so they can’t help but feel bitter.
“Last year, they cursed us for having a water (水) exam that lacked discrimination, and now they’re pointing fingers at us for having a fire (火) exam. Park, senior, to be frank, last year’s test was not rated as the easiest among all the exams. That’s why we had the first perfect scorer ever. So now we’re trying to raise the discrimination again. How can the media bash us like this?”
“Don’t even mention it, last year was horrible. The media made a fuss about the water exam’s effect or whatever, and the institute’s internal staff broke the record that hadn’t been broken for thirty years, and some of them got their performance evaluation lowered. Compared to that, the media bashing us now is nothing. I’m more annoyed by the complaints I get on the phone.”
“The test ended more than two weeks ago, what complaints? The Min team leader looked fierce too.”
“From the test site chairs being uncomfortable, to the parents protesting that the test was much harder than previous years and asking us to invalidate it. The Min team leader’s hair is falling out because of all kinds of complaints.”
The institute is being hit by the media’s sticks.
The reason was simple.
The difficulty of the college entrance exam had risen sharply compared to last year.
It was so bad that they even coined a new term, fire exam.
“They make a fuss about drowning in water if it’s a water exam, and burning in fire if it’s a fire exam. How do they want us to adjust?”
“By the way, isn’t the media briefing in two days? How did the results turn out? Will we have another perfect scorer this time?”
“Come on, do you really think that’s possible? Maybe last year, when the test was easy, but this year they made it so hard even the exam board was sweating. The results will be out soon. Team Leader Min said he’ll check and let us know. Forget about that and make a bet with me. I bet there’s no perfect score this year. Ten thousand won on it.”
“Park, senior, what are you talking about? That’s so cheap. Of course there won’t be any.”
This year’s college entrance exam was so difficult that the media called it the impossible test.
Not only the students, but even the test prep instructors were stunned by it.
One famous instructor even said, “Is the exam board crazy?” He was so confident that there would be no perfect score that he declared he would cut off his hand if there was.
‘It’s obvious, isn’t it?’
Team Leader Min sighed and took the national grading report.
He was the one who suffered every year when the exam started.
He had to deal with appeals, not to mention the parents who came to the exam board.
And this year’s test was even worse, since it was known as the impossible test.
No wonder, there was even a parent who suddenly appeared and grabbed Team Leader Min by the collar.
‘It’s not like I make the test questions.’
The exam board decided the difficulty level, but the test questions were made by the professors.
They were selected from all over the country and isolated for a long time to create the questions.
It was when Team Leader Min’s bald head was shining under the fluorescent light.
“Huh?”
Team Leader Min rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and stared at the national grading report.
He was sure that there would be no perfect score this year.
The exam board had raised the difficulty level significantly from the previous years.
And the media had been making a fuss about the impossible test. But.
“What the hell.”
Team Leader Min’s pupils shook violently as if there was an earthquake.
He was the first one to see the national grading report for the press briefing in two days.
And there, on the list of perfect scores that should have been empty, there was one student’s exam number, school, and name.
“Sehwa High School.”
Team Leader Min checked the list several times and muttered the student’s name as if he was bewitched.
“Jang Young-guk.”
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