Chapter 147: Minister’s Award
Chapter 147: Minister’s Award
“From this point, we will present the performance report for this year’s ‘Seeds of Hope’ campaign.”
With the host’s line, the lights dimmed.
The Minister of Health and Welfare stepped up onto the podium. There was a confidence on his face he couldn’t hide.
“This campaign achieved an unprecedented success. There’s a saying, ‘Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times,’ so it will be faster to show you the numbers first.”
A graph appeared on the large screen.
[Trend in the Number of Organ Donation Hope Registrants Over the Past 5 Years]
For the last four years, it had been a bar graph that stayed flat in a straight line. But once it entered this year, the pattern changed completely.
The bar shot up, nearly vertical, punching through the ceiling.
“Woooow…”
The slide advanced.
[Trend in ‘Organ Donation’ Search Volume Right After Episode 10 of the Drama “Doctor Princess” Aired]
[New Registration Ratio Among People in Their 20s and 30s Surged by 1120%]
As the data kept appearing one after another, gasps erupted throughout the hall.
“Damn… are those numbers even real?”
“A single drama can affect things this much?”
“The increase in younger generations is seriously shocking…”
Even senior officials straightened their posture at the staggering results.
The Minister of Health and Welfare spoke with a satisfied smile.
“Usually, public-interest campaigns end as short-term effects. However, this case is an exception. It properly demonstrated the power held by cultural content.”
The lights dimmed a little more, and the screen changed.
Short interview clips appeared on a black background.
[After watching that scene, I submitted the application form I’d been putting off. I didn’t know giving someone a new heart could be such a noble act. — 29, office worker]
[It really hit me more, how a donated organ changes another life. So I looked into it more and put it into action. — 45, homemaker]
When the captions disappeared, a single drama still filled the screen.
A shot of Han Jusin in “Doctor Princess,” concentrating over an operating table.
“This minister’s commendation is not simply an award given to a celebrity who participated in public-interest activities.”
The Minister of Health and Welfare swept his gaze across the audience once.
“It is an award given to a contributor who understood the power of content, and unfolded that power in a positive direction.”
The minister let the moment hang, then called out loudly.
“I would like to invite to the podium the Ministry of Health and Welfare ‘Seeds of Hope’ PR Ambassador, and the lead actor of the drama ‘Doctor Princess’—Mr. Ryu Sunho.”
Clapclapclapclapclapclap—
The moment my name was called, thunderous cheers and applause filled the hall.
“Hello. I’m actor Ryu Sunho. First, to the minister who gave me this commendation…”
I expressed my gratitude to the Minister of Health and Welfare, then slowly continued.
At a place like this, humility and sincerity mattered.
“I believe choice must always belong to the individual. It is not something we can force, nor should we.”
All noise in the hall settled.
Everyone focused on my mouth.
“Still, I only wanted to deliver a story that makes you unable to keep postponing that choice. I wanted to show hope—that it does not have to be someone’s end, but can become someone else’s beginning.”
My calm but deeply persuasive voice flowed through the speakers.
Maybe because of the aura, emotion seemed amplified—I could feel people’s eyes moistening.
“Today, I will consider this commendation not mine, but the commendation of all the people who made a courageous choice to register as donation hopefuls. Thank you.”
I bowed deeply.
The applause rang out, louder and longer than before.
Clapclapclapclapclapclapclap—!
After the commemorative photos, the event concluded.
Just as I was about to head out, someone called me from behind.
“Mr. Ryu Sunho.”
When I turned, the Minister of Health and Welfare was walking over.
He had the aides step back and reached out with a bright smile.
“Your words today were excellent.”
Sincerity came through in his handshake and gaze.
“To be honest, thanks to this campaign performance, I got to walk into the Cabinet meeting with my shoulders a bit straighter. I bragged about it quite a lot to the other ministers.”
I was more surprised than I expected at him saying he went around bragging, but I kept it from showing and smiled modestly.
“These days, it’s a difficult era for the word ‘public interest,’ isn’t it. If there’s even a slight nuance of forcing it, people react with, ‘You’re trying to lecture me,’ and push back. But if you do nothing, then nothing happens.”
It was something I agreed with.
That was why advertising professionals wracked their brains to deliver messages in refined ways.
The minister smiled and continued.
“Cases that show that sensitive balance this cleanly and stylishly are rare… It’s truly impressive. A young man with very deep thought.”
“You’re praising me too much.”
“Too much? Those numbers we showed everyone today already proved it.”
He patted my shoulder, his eyes meaningful.
“I think we’ll be seeing each other often at official events from now on. For the sake of Korea’s culture and arts, I’ll be cheering for your future path as well.”
After the short exchange, the minister left.
As the eyes of the surrounding officials shifted, I caught whispered voices.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen the minister praise someone that much…”
“He must’ve really taken a liking to him…”
“I’m jealous. He’s got a real connection now…”
Meanwhile, at the same time.
Moon Ganghyeok sat alone in a practice room, taking a call.
Even though the afterglow of “Doctor Princess” should still have been lingering, his face was full of worry.
“…Yes. I’ll think more about the photoshoot…”
After the drama’s record-breaking success, schedules were flooding in like a tide.
Photoshoots, interviews, ads, offers for the next project.
It should have been a happy scream for an actor, but Moon Ganghyeok felt fear first.
Can I handle this?
He’d never received attention this big in his life.
It was attention beyond his capacity.
He couldn’t sort out what to choose and what to cut.
It was to the point his daily life was collapsing.
Not only his, but the people working with him too.
CEO Jeong Jun said it was fine, but it was obvious he was suffering—barely sleeping, skipping meals—because of him.
The limits of a one-person agency were showing clearly.
This is a burden to everyone…
Moon Ganghyeok felt suffocated.
But he couldn’t go back to Big Blue Entertainment.
Instead, a scene he saw on the wrap-party day lingered in his mind.
The staff of Flash Entertainment, where Ryu Sunho, Park Juwon, and Seo Yoonha were signed.
They were casual and close with their actors, but when work started, their eyes changed and they cared for the actors professionally.
In the end, after long deliberation, Moon Ganghyeok made a big decision.
With a tense face, he went to Jeong Jun, his co-CEO and manager.
“Oh, Kanghyeok. What’s up?”
“Big bro… I… I’m going to shut the company down.”
Silence hung between them for a moment.
Just as Moon Ganghyeok was about to fall into self-blame, thinking he was the worst, CEO Jeong Jun smiled and said, “Yeah. You thought it through well. I also thought you needed an environment where you could focus only on acting. I’m sorry I wasn’t enough.”
“No… I’m sorry. I said we should do this together, and I couldn’t take responsibility…”
CEO Jeong Jun’s voice was unexpectedly calm.
If anything, he sounded relieved.
“Then have you decided where you’ll go?”
“Flash Entertainment… I’m going to try there.”
“Mm. Good choice. They’re the hottest right now. I’ve also heard their CEO has a good mindset.”
He patted Moon Ganghyeok’s shoulder and continued.
“I can finally go back to running my acting academy comfortably too. Sitting at a desk and pretending to be refined didn’t suit me, and it was exhausting.”
“…I’m sorry. And thank you, big bro.”
“Sorry, my ass. Later, when you become a huge actor, come teach a class or do a special lecture at the academy once. Then we’re even.”
News was always faster than feet.
The news that Ryu Sunho received the Minister of Health and Welfare’s commendation spread quickly online.
[Ryu Sunho receives the Minister of Health and Welfare’s commendation… “an icon of positive influence”]
[Recognized for contributions to improving organ donation awareness… Ryu Sunho receives the honor of a minister’s commendation]
Since it wasn’t common for a celebrity to receive a minister’s commendation from a government ministry, attention gathered quickly.
Wow, this is insane… a minister’s commendation, his class is different
It wasn’t just being a PR ambassador as a face—he directly proposed ideas and produced results, so he deserved it yeah
This is the real positive function of celebrities
If I were the minister I’d carry him on my backㅋㅋㅋ He fixed an awareness issue they couldn’t change even by throwing money at it, in one shot
The comment section was nothing but praise.
Among them, one long comment stood out.
Ryu Sunho’s character is genuinely real… It’s not image management—he’s just a solid person. At the wrap party, he bought 700,000-won headsets with his own money for all staff, and he remembered each of the 100+ staff members’ names and wrote handwritten letters for them.
At first, people were doubtful.
He wrote handwritten letters to 100 people?
No way, the manager probably ghostwrote it
Is that even possible with that schedule?
But the doubt didn’t last long.
Someone quickly found proof photos on the staff’s personal SNS and shared them to the community.
[Gifts Ryu Sunho reportedly handed out to all “DocPri” staff]
(photo)
In the photo, along with high-end headset boxes, there were letters written in neat handwriting.
The content wasn’t copy-pasted either.
It was written to match each person’s name.
Holy shit… he’s really meticulous… It has to be over 100 people—he wrote all that?
Even his handwriting is handsomeㅠㅠ It’s real adult handwriting, so it’s cool as hell
Wow, but writing letters using names is both sense and insane; you can’t write that kind of content unless you actually care
If it were me, I’d keep that letter as a family heirloom forever
In the car while checking reactions, Ryu Sunho cleared his throat.
…It’s a little embarrassing if even the letter content gets public.
Writing poems with someone’s name could be kind of cringe if other people saw it.
But whatever—if the reaction was good, that was fine.
Of course, among them, there were some crooked takes.
An actor should be praised for acting skill; what is this;
But comments like that got buried instantly by a barrage of replies and disappeared.
Maybe it was the effect of the aura that formed, but at this point, criticizing Ryu Sunho’s acting skill could only be seen as baseless hating.
If you searched Ryu Sunho’s name right now, columns and videos praising his acting poured out like bamboo shoots after rain.
“The character Han Jusin, an ‘otaku’ and a ‘genius doctor,’ could have come off as unlikable if handled wrong. But Ryu Sunho’s detailed acting perfectly harmonized ‘bluster,’ ‘cuteness,’ and ‘seriousness.’ Now he has grown to the point where we can dare attach the modifier ‘Korea’s best actor’…”
Yeah, agreed—without Ryu Sunho this charm wouldn’t existㅋㅋㅋ
└ Trueㅋㅋㅋ Who else could do Han Jusin besides Ryu Sunho? I can’t even picture it
Honestly I didn’t think Ryu Sunho was that good at acting, but seeing him even make childish lines work, I can only admit it;
Ah, now I’m looking forward to year-end awardsㅋㅋㅋ Feels like Baeksang Grand Prize is basically lockedㅋㅋㅋ
└ Yeah, there probably won’t be a work that beats thisㅋㅋㅋ
└ At least film and TV are awarded separately… otherwise we’d get hit by a giant truck called Ryu Sunhoㅋㅋㅋ
That kind of reaction was also something you could feel in reality.
The status window floating in front of me was proving it with clear numbers.
【Right now, ‘11%’ of people in Korea think you are the best actor.】
I finally entered double digits.
Even raising 1% was extremely hard.
But it shot up in an instant.
Now I was getting closer to the real goal.
The person most people probably call Korea’s best actor right now is Gong Hajin… I wonder what percentage he has…
While I was thinking that, the car stopped briefly, and Team Leader Jo Sehun got in a bit late.
“Hello, Team Leader.”
“Yeah, yeah. Nothing happened, right?”
After Road Manager Jeong Daeyeop gave a quick briefing, Team Leader Jo Sehun nodded.
Then, with a lit-up face, he said to me, “Sunho, I’ve got two pieces of good news.”
Two?
“What is it?”
“First, Actor Moon Ganghyeok contacted us saying he wants to come to our agency. We’re negotiating the contract terms, but it’s basically confirmed. If it goes well, he might become family with us.”
Oh.
That was news I never expected at all.
But…
Was it really something he would call ‘good news’…?
Of course, I welcomed a co-star with good chemistry coming in, but it felt more like good news for the company than for me.
“And the other piece of good news is…”
Team Leader Jo Sehun turned toward me and grinned.
“Now we have to do your first fan meeting, right? The company fixed the venue and date. We’re going to do it properly, with full production.”
…!
That was definitely good news.
I’d long wanted to repay what I received from fans, but I never had the right opportunity.
Now I could finally meet fans directly.
“We’ll book an MC, do a recent-updates talk, watch famous drama scenes together, play games with the fans, then sing one song at the end and wrap. Clean, right?”
…
Listening to the explanation, my energy oddly drained.
It was too predictable.
It wasn’t a wrong structure.
It was the safest and most standard approach.
But this was a place for people who had passionately supported me for a long time.
I wanted to give them a more memorable, special experience.
“Team Leader.”
“Hm?”
“The structure isn’t fixed yet, right?”
“Well, we still have to plan the details.”
“Then can I add some ideas to the fan meeting?”
Team Leader Jo Sehun stared blankly for a moment, then snorted a laugh and nodded.
“Sure. The company agreed to back you fully. Don’t worry about the budget—set up the whole show as much as you want.”