The Hunt for Another Story

8:00 PM.

Min Yee's apartment.

He sat in the dark, face lit only by his laptop screen, hands clicking through Wattpad.
He was filtering for Korean-written stories.

Nothing.

Every single plot felt overused.

Damn.

Are these people seriously out of ideas?

Same tropes. Same endings. Same heartaches that don't even hurt anymore.

He sighed and leaned back.

Then an idea hit him.

Maybe I should try English Wattpad stories...

American ones, maybe?

He started browsing.

Some titles were impressive.

Some story descriptions — even better.

But then his thoughts kicked in:

No. No, no, no.

If I plagiarize an American writer... they'll sue me to hell and back.

Those guys will hunt you down for stealing a comma.

My boys can't help me with that kind of problem.

You mess with one paragraph, they throw their lawyers at you.

He scrolled away quickly.

I need something good... but safe.

Next tab: Indonesian Wattpad.

Huh... not bad.

He bookmarked a few.

Then he checked Thailand Wattpad stories.

Alright. There's flavor here.

He bookmarked those too.

But then...

Filipino Wattpad stories.

At first, nothing stood out.

Too colorful. Too romantic. Too cliché.

Until—

A story cover.

A photo frame.
Inside it: a smiling man, a woman, and a baby.
The glass was cracked.

Interesting... he whispered.

He copied the description and dropped it into Google Translate.

Wait... this isn't about a broken family?

Curious, he opened Chapter One.

A female doctor?

Is this another medical drama? he muttered.

Then he read Chapter Two.

Chapter Three.

And then—

He stopped breathing.

His hands hovered over the trackpad.

This...

This is unexpected.

The plot. The voice. The execution.

It's subtle. Tragic. Raw.

It doesn't scream for attention. But it begs to be remembered.

His eyes widened.

I think...

He stood up.
Raised his fists in the air.

"YES!!!"

Writing the Pitch

Friday night.

I sat at my desk, eyes fixed on the glowing screen, hands moving over the keyboard.
Three more days. That's all I had until the pitch presentation with the production and creative team.

I typed the final sentence.

Done.

Finally.

—START OF PITCH—

Story Pitch: The Ones I Loved Not Meant For Me
Presented by: Park Min Yee

Summary:
A haunting narrative that blurs the line between dreams and reality, love and loss, sanity and memory.

Main Characters:

Dr. Clarisse Park – A brilliant but emotionally fragile endocrinologist who begins experiencing strange shifts between waking life and dreams—where she lives a full life with a man and a child who may not exist.

William Kim – A gentle, charming man who exists only in Clarisse's dream world. He may be the love she was always meant to find... if only he were real.

Ethan Park – A child born in the dream. His presence becomes the anchor of Clarisse's emotional descent—and awakening.

Core Concept:
The story explores a dual-world narrative: one grounded in cold, clinical waking reality, and the other set in a vivid, emotionally rich dream world—where Clarisse experiences love, motherhood, and heartbreak that feel even more real than life itself.

A metaphorical wall clock in her bedroom serves as the surreal indicator of which world she's in.
Right wall = reality.
Left wall = the dream.

Every morning becomes a silent war.
Each time she wakes, she prays to see the clock on the left.

—END OF PITCH—

I leaned back in my chair.

Then I started drafting the chapter summaries — fourteen in total.

The story wasn't even complete.

But I figured...
I'd write the ending once it was needed.

I hope so, I told myself.

The Pitch Begins

DreamNest Studios.

Conference Room B.

Mr. Choi was already there when I walked in — suit freshly pressed, coffee in hand, and a smile stretching from ear to ear.

He looked like a man who'd just been handed a winning lottery ticket.

"Park Min Yee!" he greeted.

"I hope you have something explosive."

"Sir," I smiled, cool and confident,

"I'm not here to pitch a story.

I'm here to pitch a masterpiece."

That got their attention.

The room quieted.
I handed out the printed concept notes — neatly formatted, emotion-heavy logline, character arcs, major twists, and just enough mystery to keep them curious.

As they read, I watched their faces.

One by one, the reactions came.

Eyes widening.
Brows furrowing.
Mouths slightly parting.

By the time Mr. Choi got to the last page, he leaned back, looking like he'd just bitten into gold.

"This is... this is incredible," he whispered.

He looked up at me.

"Where did you get this idea?"

I smiled.

Shrugged casually.

"It just came to me."

"I guess... I tapped into something real this time."

They all nodded, impressed.

But inside me?

I was laughing.
And panicking.
All at once.

Because the truth was:

I didn't even know how the story ends yet.

But the show must go on...

The Story That Will Change DreamNest

The conference room at DreamNest was filled with the creative and production team.

At the far end of the table sat Mr. Choi.

I presented the pitch for our supposed next big series:
"The Ones I Loved Not Meant For Me."

As I spoke, a production assistant moved around the room, distributing printed copies of the pitch and chapter breakdown.

I could hear the whispers as they flipped through the pages.

"Is this a medical drama? Didn't we just finish one?"

"No, it's not. There's something different about it."

"Feels like some alternate universe or dream-state thing..."

Mr. Choi's eyebrows furrowed.

He scratched the back of his neck.

Then—

"Gentlemen..." he said, standing.

"I think we've found our next K-Drama series for production!"

Gasps. Nods. Buzz.

"I want the full creative team to begin storyboarding immediately!"

The room came alive with chatter.

"Good work, Min Yee," Mr. Choi said, patting me on the shoulder.

I almost collapsed from the pressure that left my chest.

Another day.

Another way to survive.

Eventually, the room cleared out.

Only Mr. Choi and I remained.

He stood, gripping the pitch like it was sacred scripture.

"This is the one!" he shouted.

"This is the one we've been waiting for!"

He looked around, as if trying to burn the moment into memory.

"This story... will etch DreamNest into the history of entertainment!"

Then he turned to me — eyes wide, voice almost trembling.

"Min Yee... you are a genius."

I smiled.

"Thank you, Sir," I said, bowing slightly. Calm. Polite. Perfect.

Then, turning back to my seat, I whispered with a smirk:

"Predictable. I knew he was going to say that."

Mr. Choi flipped to the final page of the outline and looked up.

"Have you figured out how it ends?" he asked.

"There are only fourteen chapters."

I paused.

Just a heartbeat.

Not too long to raise suspicion.

"Not yet, Sir," I replied, confident as always.

"But I promise you...
the ending won't shout.
It will whisper.
And it will stay with our viewers for eternity."

Mr. Choi's eyes sparkled.

He placed a hand on his chest, visibly moved.

"I knew you could do it.
Han Do — may his spirit rest in peace —
he didn't make a mistake when he chose you as his apprentice."

I smiled a little too wide.

"Don't you think it's exciting?" I said.

"We don't know the ending yet...
but we're the ones who'll write it when the day comes."

I chuckled softly.

On the outside: inspired.

On the inside?

Doubt.

Panic.

A hollow ringing in my ears.

But Mr. Choi stepped closer, overflowing with passion.

"I know."

"So let's make history."

We shook hands.

His grip was firm.

Mine... not so much.

I turned my back to him, walking toward the door.

Still smiling.

Still acting.

But in my head, one word echoed louder than applause:

Fuck...

To be continued...