Chapter 91: Drama? Movie?
“What is this?”
Kim So-woon frowned and fiddled with the envelope. Was this action too sudden? In case the child got upset, Muyoung added a little lie.
“Give it to your grandmother.”
“Huh?”
“I was helped by your grandmother a long time ago. Please tell her that I was really grateful then. I’m finally doing a little better now, so I’m repaying her. I wonder if she’ll forget because it’s so late.”
At Muyoung’s words, the elderly ghost stretched out her arm and called him over. As if to say, come closer. Muyoung took half a step closer to the child and reminded him again.
“Got it? Be sure to give it to your grandmother.”
“Oh. My grandmother is…”
The child, who was about to say that she had already passed away, closed his mouth. The thickness of the envelope he held in his hand was quite substantial.
The grandmother ghost gently stroked Muyoung’s head with her transparent hand. She was truly grateful, slowly, even though she was just a warm, bodiless entity.
“Well, I’m busy, so I’ll be going now. You really need to study hard. I’m curious how far you’ll go with that smart brain of yours. Jackpot! Thumbs up!”
Lies breed lies.
If the conversation continued, he would have to make up another story. Muyoung raised both thumbs and then turned around. Come to think of it, saying he was busy wasn’t entirely a lie.
“Hey!”
Kim So-woon stared blankly at the envelope and his back.
“Th-thank you for returning the money…”
“You’re welcome!”
He didn’t know what favor the deceased grandmother had done for him, but this was truly a ray of light sent from heaven. It was the middle of a cold winter. He couldn’t even turn up the heat properly, so he had to sleep hugging a hot water pack.
‘I should buy Grandpa some meat… Oh! What’s this? So much?’
He was shocked when he checked the envelope. Twenty-six 50,000 won bills. The prize money and appearance fees Muyoung received were all in there.
‘Huh…?’
It was only then that Kim So-woon sensed something strange. His grandmother had been kind in life, but she wasn’t someone who could lend such a large sum of money to someone.
It wasn’t a matter of personality, but she didn’t have that kind of money!
“What’s this?”
The child just tilted his head and headed for the elevator. His grandfather was waiting. And if it was his grandfather, he would know. The two of them were the most harmonious couple in the neighborhood, so he would know where this money came from.
Ding-dong-
So-woon carefully folded the envelope and put it in his padded jacket pocket.
Meanwhile, Muyoung, who had quickly turned the corner to avoid So-woon, spotted Duseok, who had just finished filming and was leaving the studio. He greeted him with a smile.
“Teacher!”
“Oh. Yes. You worked hard today. As expected, a prestigious university student is different. I couldn’t tell if those were numbers or English. Haha. The audience reaction was good, too, so if we edit it well, it should be fine.”
He patted Muyoung on the shoulder to encourage him.
“Thank you so much today. It was an honor to meet you.”
“Me too. Oh, by the way, are you the manager?”
“Yes. I’m Ko Gyeongmin.”
Duseok seemed to be deep in thought, then nodded.
“This guy’s been really busy lately, hasn’t he?”
“The drama is being filmed live continuously… But it’s okay. We can adjust. What’s the matter?”
He wouldn’t have brought up such a thing for no reason. The quick-witted Gyeongmin immediately took Duseok’s bait.
“No. I saw him today, and he has such a good character and speaks well, so I’d like to invite him as a guest on our show. Haha. I’ll mention it at tomorrow’s meeting. But didn’t you have some contact with him, too?”
“Are you talking about
There was only one program that Duseok referred to as “ours.”
It was the variety show that had put him at the top, and it had held the number one weekend viewership rating for nearly a decade, a historic achievement.
“I’m trying to invite someone from <You Are a Star, I Am a Star> as a guest, but for some reason, the schedule just doesn’t work out.”
“Uh, no!”
Muyoung screamed in shock. It was almost a reflexive reaction, bordering on a spasm.
“…?”
“Uh, I’ll make time no matter what and come, Teacher.”
“Hahaha! Okay. Let’s try to arrange a schedule then. Oh, and can I have your phone number?”
And he handed his phone to Muyoung.
Oh my. Muyoung was so overwhelmed that he couldn’t tell if this was a dream or reality. He even checked the familiar number several times to make sure he hadn’t written it down wrong.
“This is my number.”
Duseok pressed the call button and left a missed call for Muyoung.
“If you need to contact me, don’t go through the company. Just call me directly. It’s simpler, right? Haha. Anyway, be careful on your way home, and you really worked hard today.”
“Th-thank you, Teacher! Be careful on your way home!”
Muyoung hugged his phone tightly and bowed deeply. Until he and his manager disappeared from sight.
“He’s gone.”
Gyeongmin poked him in the side, hinting, but Muyoung showed no sign of getting up. He just slid down.
“Heeeeng-”
“Oh, man. Get up!”
“My legs gave out-”
He fell to the ground, using his hands to support himself.
He’s gone mad. Ha Muyoung exchanged personal numbers with MC Duseok! And it was the teacher who asked for it first!
“Is this not a dream?”
“Want me to pinch you?”
“No… Whatever it is, I’ll just stay like this.”
Muyoung just lay there, smiling foolishly. Whether the passing staff saw him or not, did it matter now? Muyoung sitting there and Gyeongmin standing beside him looked like a parent dealing with a tantrum.
“Uraracha!”
Having fully savored the moment, he stretched out his fist and stood up, like Superman.
“Are you done now?”
“Let’s get to work! I’m at a hundred percent energy right now!”
“It’s good that you’re recharged. Starting tomorrow—no, since it’s past midnight, starting today—we’re doing outdoor filming.”
“Uh… Suddenly, it dropped to ninety percent.”
“Come quickly!”
Gyeongmin laughed as he pulled on his collar. It was a day when he had physically experienced the momentum building up. The outdoor filming would probably be fun, too.
“How’s the reaction been?”
In the S Corporation executive office, Director Lee Yujin and several staff members were sitting around a long conference table. She smiled at the executive’s question.
“The buzz is insane.”
“Because of the drama’s nature, the reaction from young people is explosive. The speed at which posts are coming up on the feed, too. There’s an endless stream of meme lines and coordination ideas. Maybe it’s because the new semester is starting soon. It’s especially intense.”
It was especially hot among prospective freshmen waiting to enter university.
They were asking if there were seniors like that when you went to college… Seoyeon University, where Ha Muyoung was enrolled, especially benefited from the image boost.
Because if you went there, you’d actually meet Ha Muyoung as a senior.
“What about the viewership ratings?”
“They’re continuing to rise.”
At the executive’s question, her eyes sparkled, as if to say, ask more, ask more. The executive chuckled and nodded.
“How much?”
“We started with 9% for the first episode, and today’s broadcast of episode 4 has an average viewership rating of 15.7%, ranking first in the same time slot for three consecutive episodes. There’s been no hiatus, and the ratings have continued to rise, especially on a weekly basis.”
That’s what the data collected directly by the broadcaster showed.
The prediction was that word of mouth during the week was leading to reactions when the show aired.
“What’s surprising is that the rerun viewership ratings are also high. They’re averaging between 5% and 6%. You know what that means, right?”
“It means the fan base is strong. Is it because there are a lot of idols? Or what—”
Or, it meant that people who couldn’t watch it during the late-night broadcast were watching it during the day.
What if this had been aired during prime time? What if people could have watched it while eating dinner?
“Ah. What a shame. What a shame.”
“Yeah. Even if we delayed the schedule a bit, we could have made it work.”
Everyone sighed in regret. It could have gone beyond being S Corporation’s drama of the year and become the flagship drama of the three major broadcasters.
“It’s a great way to kick off the new year.”
“We’re kicking it off well now. Just keep it up. Just keep it up. Is that writer still having trouble writing the script?”
“We hired one more junior writer, but it’s still like that. There’s always something that needs to be revised. He says it’s almost done, but then he misses deadlines and stuff. That’s how it is.”
“Writer Kim writes well, but that’s a bit of an NG.”
He’d received several works so far, but it was strangely consistent.
The executive closed the file folder and smiled in satisfaction. Well, as long as it gets to Seoul, it doesn’t matter which way you go. The viewership ratings were good, and they’d sold out all the ads, so there was nothing to complain about.
“Oh, by the way, what about Ha Muyoung?”
“Huh? What about him?”
Director Lee Yujin, who was about to wrap up the meeting and stand up, asked in confusion.
“The Baeksang Awards are this spring, right?”
“I guess so? If nothing happens.”
“Where do you think he’ll go then?”
The broadcaster’s acting awards had already ended before <You Are a Star, I Am a Star> aired. So the first one coming up would be the Baeksang Arts Awards…
“
Normally, the cumulative number of viewers should decrease toward the end, but strangely,
High production quality and a unique storyline. Word of mouth was one thing, but the news of the contract with Nepflix probably played a part, too.
“Right. Wasn’t it exactly three million people today?”
The psychology of “If you don’t watch it in theaters now, you’ll only be able to watch it on Nepflix” was at play.
“Leaving aside the number of viewers, since it’s Director Jin Gyeongmun’s work, he should be able to aim for at least one award, right? The movie was fun and good.”
Then, in which category would Ha Muyoung be nominated at the Baeksang Arts Awards? No, they say to aim high.
“What do you think? I think he’ll win one Best New Actor award in the film category.”
At his words, Director Lee Yujin laughed cynically.
“Does it mean anything if I say it now? There are so many strong contenders.”
If Ha Muyoung had said something like that, she would have told him not to count his chickens before they hatch. As she left the meeting room, the executive called out to her.
“So, you think Ha Muyoung will go home empty-handed at this year’s Baeksang?”
She paused. Holding the doorknob, she replied.
“I didn’t say that.”
“Take a guess. Where? Film? Drama?”
“…If he’s going to win, it should definitely be in the TV category. He’s our team leader.”
“Look at that! Hahaha! Pretending not to care, but—oh, man!”
“Well, I’ll be going now!”
The executive laughed and teased Director Lee Yujin. But of course, if he was going to win an award, it would be better for it to be for a drama. It was her work, and he was the lead. But…
‘Oh well. I don’t know. He’ll figure it out.’
Director Lee Yujin contacted the assistant director to check the filming schedule. Nothing else mattered; the most important thing right now was to make sure the upcoming shoot didn’t fall through.
“Where was the first shoot today? Huh? Oh, Hongdae street. Right. It’s an outdoor shoot. Got it. I’m coming down now. The executive’s lips are curled up to his ears. Haha. Okay. Got it.”
Ding.
She stepped lightly into the elevator. On the inside wall, a promotional video for <You Are a Star, I Am a Star> was playing.
“Anyway. What a guy.”
Director Lee Yujin glanced at Muyoung’s intense acting and muttered. And that muttering…
“Eek-!”
“What? What’s wrong?”
“No. My ear suddenly itched. Someone must be talking about me.”
“There must be so many people in South Korea. Right?”
Muyoung, who was on his way to work, scratched his ear.
He was driving through a road that looked lonely, perhaps because of the cold, heading toward Hongdae.