episode_0079

What is a work of art?

There’s no definitive answer.

If you ask five people, you’ll get five different answers, and choosing the best one isn’t easy. Each answer is likely a blend of their life’s journey and their realizations.

That’s what a work of art is, inherently.

It changes depending on who touches it, with what mindset, and how. Even Director Ko Tae-min, known as a meticulous maestro, was no exception, and he quietly observed the situation.

A noisy situation, he was deeply engrossed in thought.

Yes, everyone has different thoughts about a work of art.

‘This is clear just by looking around.’

To Park Joon, the creator of ‘Sword,’ a work of art is loyalty.

He used the person who believed in him the most as his driving force, and then created his work to repay that person. So, for Director Park Joon, a work of art must be a kind of loyalty.

The cases of writer Lee Geum-suk and PD Choi Hee-won of ‘Special Mobile Unit 808’ are different. Their work is like a stepping stone in a stream.

If you gather each person’s interpretation of the world within the work and place it down like a stone, eventually it takes the form of a stepping stone. Ko Tae-min had recently observed their working method directly.

For Kim Joon-gi, who became a criminal, a work of art is desire.

‘He was the type to think of it as pottery.’

He manipulated everything as he pleased, and if the shape he wanted didn’t come out, he would casually apply force and break it. He had been seen breaking things many times when he didn’t like the outcome.

Now, the last one. What is a work of art to him, Ko Tae-min?

‘To me, a work of art is…’

Ko Tae-min’s contemplation didn’t last long.

‘…a ship.’

A ship sailing the vast ocean.

Ko Tae-min considered his work to be like a ship. Everyone rowing with one heart and one mind, and as they move forward, they inevitably reach the destination of completion.

That kind of obsession might be the element that made Ko Tae-min sound like a ‘meticulous maestro.’ He believed that he could only work if all the oars moved uniformly.

So.

Maybe.

This noisy situation. He also felt that the weight of being a maestro was actually holding him back.

‘Things have become too complicated. It wasn’t like this before.’

Ko Tae-min suddenly reflected on the past.

Looking back, it was really easy when he first started making movies.

His ship was only the size of a raft, and Ko Tae-min was the only one rowing. No one really interfered, no matter where it drifted.

After that, several hit films, several successes.

It was okay even when the ship got a little bigger. A ferry.

Most of the people who boarded were Ko Tae-min’s fans or followers. They were under his control, and they tried to understand Ko Tae-min’s intentions and row accordingly.

But.

Finally, when he reached the ranks of the maestros.

Now that the ship has become too big.

“…”

Ko Tae-min suddenly looked around.

The maestro pianist Ham Ah-yoon, the production team staff who had demonstrated outstanding abilities in each field, the outstanding rookie Lee Soo-ah, the CEO of Mystic, Kim Yi-seo…. The meaning was clear.

Now the ship has become too big, and the people who have boarded are also diverse.

This is just what he can see, but if he calculates other things, the scale must be twice as large. Because the number of investors watching with their arms crossed in the back has increased.

When there are many people, conflicts naturally increase.

Therefore, the higher Ko Tae-min rose, the harder it became for him to create the work he pursued. He had to pursue ‘complete cooperation’ from the increasingly larger number of people.

Of course, controlling them might be the director’s ability.

Ko Tae-min knew it well too. If he used his position and power, he could somewhat oppress the people on board.

But he had his own beliefs for not doing so.

‘The moment you do that, complete cooperation becomes impossible.’

There is always resentment behind coercion.

Control is possible. If Ko Tae-min oppresses them and makes them row, the ship will move forward, but resentment and questions will begin to coil in the hearts of those who have been oppressed.

Those who row with questions and resentment in their hearts are bound to be uncooperative, and this naturally leads to an imbalance in the ship. Ko Tae-min didn’t like the outcome that was created in that way.

Everyone has a destination they want to reach with one heart and one mind, and everyone moves forward with a consistent force. He believed that only cooperation that is tightly united in that way can be called a work of art.

In the past, when he told this story, people around him used to say. That he was pursuing something too unrealistic. But Ko Tae-min answered with a consistent attitude every time he heard those words.

A work of art is originally about creating something that didn’t exist in reality, so it’s worth pursuing something unrealistic, he said.

A path where everyone moves forward with the same heart.

His group ‘Right Path’ also had that meaning.

So, Ko Tae-min tested Soo-ah in front of everyone. He thought that if he saw Soo-ah’s eye for talent, the production team members would change their minds to some extent.

But.

‘…Was it too much after all.’

There was a very big problem.

‘The fact that Ham Ah-yoon is too much of a big shot.’

In the end, Ko Tae-min’s persuasion failed. Everyone seemed to acknowledge Soo-ah’s eye for talent itself, but despite that, there were many people who thought that Ham Ah-yoon was more amazing.

He couldn’t just blame them. They just think that a proven piano skill is better than a proven eye for talent.

Ko Tae-min kept thinking.

Is there a way to make everyone cooperate without giving them any coercion? In the end, the moment resentment remains in someone’s heart, it’s like a flaw is created in the work that will be completed, so is there the best way?

But it was then.

“I heard Ah-yoon’s performance just now. You’re still going to try?”

“Yes. I’m serious about the Kim So-hee role too. Of course, I also have a passion for music. I’m confident that I won’t be pushed back.”

The conflict between the director of AWA Entertainment and Soo-ah had begun in earnest. First of all, Ko Tae-min was greatly surprised by Soo-ah’s attitude.

‘Soo-ah’s spirit, it doesn’t seem like a rookie at all.’

No, maybe it’s the spirit that you can show because you’re a rookie.

Raising your voice towards Ham Ah-yoon’s side is something that other people wouldn’t even dare to do. Moreover, the number of production team people standing on Ham Ah-yoon’s side is enormous now.

So he couldn’t even think of stopping her in advance.

He couldn’t even imagine that Soo-ah would be so bold. Not only him, but anyone here would have felt the same. The fact that most of them had similar expressions was proof of that.

‘I’m going crazy. I need to find an answer…’

Ko Tae-min further sped up his contemplation. It wasn’t good for both sides to clash. Soo-ah was a rookie he was interested in, and Ham Ah-yoon was a big shot he respected.

This situation itself where both sides are experiencing conflict was unpleasant.

However.

“Only Ah-yoon performed. I should have my turn to be fair too.”

“No…it’s not important if it’s your turn right now, is it?”

At that time when the conflict was escalating.

Ko Tae-min decided to break his beliefs for the first time.

‘No. This can’t be helped. Mediation is essential.’

The value he pursues is the ‘Right Path’ where everyone is united, but that doesn’t mean he can leave it to become the worst. Ko Tae-min also knew how to choose the next best thing instead of the best.

He’ll have to give up on the ideal picture, but it’s better than the ship breaking apart completely. At this point, he has no choice but to put the director’s authority forward. Oppression and coercion are the only things that will calm this situation down.

But.

It was a strange thing.

“Okay.”

When Ham Ah-yoon pushed the director aside and intervened.

“Then let’s do it like this.”

From the moment Ham Ah-yoon and Soo-ah’s eyes met in the air, and the two parties involved started to find common ground.

“…”

Ko Tae-min briefly stopped thinking about intervening.

‘Lee Soo-ah and Ham Ah-yoon… no…?’

He started to see the two of them differently.

‘…Kim So-hee and Park Min-seo?’

Kim So-hee, who has savant syndrome.

Elite genius Park Min-seo.

Ko Tae-min’s deeply sunken eyes moved like lenses, and the two roles had already begun to overlap in front of him. The structure of two geniuses fiercely arguing while sitting at their respective pianos.

‘This…isn’t bad…’

In the meantime, Ham Ah-yoon’s proposal was reasonable.

If she had that kind of position, she could have tried to crush Soo-ah with her authority, but Ham Ah-yoon didn’t say that.

“It’s unreasonable for us to compete with our performances.”

Herself, who has piano skills but was not chosen by the director, and Soo-ah, who was chosen by the director but has no piano skills. A promise that if Soo-ah shows her talent, she will step aside.

“…”

Ko Tae-min crossed his arms quietly instead of intervening.

That was the instinct and intuition of a maestro.

Everyone is holding their own oars, the direction they want to go is different, and the meaning they want to put into it is also different. Right now, the ship called ‘Crescendo From Tomorrow’ is being hit by a storm and wandering.

Somehow, it felt like the answer would come out if he watched for a moment.

It didn’t seem like it would take long.

At most 3 minutes. It seemed like it would be decided within that time.