Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Is the Writer Omnipotent?
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“Whoa...”
“Who is that?”
“An actor?”
“Looks like a foreign actor.”
“He’s insanely handsome.”
On the set of Otherworld Chef.
The staff were unusually rowdy today.
All eyes were fixed on one man.
Every time he moved, his silky golden hair caught the sunlight and sparkled like strands of satin.
Clap!
At that moment, Tae-seong clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention.
“Let me introduce him. This is Gabriel, who’ll be appearing in Otherworld Chef.”
“Pleased to meet you all.”
“Wow... your Korean is flawless.”
“Have you lived in Korea for a long time?”
People took an interest as Gabriel introduced himself with perfectly accented Korean, just like a native.
His looks played a big part in capturing that attention.
Thanks to his otherworldly beauty that transcended human limits, he drew admiration from men and women alike.
“Alright, let’s get started with the shoot.”
Tae-seong stepped in at just the right moment to prepare for filming.
* * *
Season 1 of Otherworld Chef was planned for a total of 20 episodes.
Arkel appeared in the final scene of episode 19.
Tae-seong recalled his first encounter with Arkel.
The guy was the kingdom’s third prince.
Despite his noble status, he had fled to the kingdom’s outskirts to escape power struggles.
But his princely blood wouldn’t let him be.
In the end, assassins sent by the second prince, who had seized power, ambushed him.
He lost all his subordinates and fled with severe wounds. The place he stumbled into was a tribal village.
Arkel staggered into a building on the brink of death.
Crash!
One wall of the building shattered as a figure tumbled inside.
The figure rolled across the floor a few times before collapsing.
The tribesfolk who had been eating inside jumped up, on guard.
Tae-seong, who had been cooking, calmed them down and approached the fallen man.
As he knelt on one knee in front of the man and reached out—
The man’s upper body shot up.
His face was a mess of dirt, bruises, and bloodstains.
Even so, his radiant beauty shone through undimmed.
“H... help... me...”
With a faint, trembling voice, he pleaded for aid before passing out again.
Tae-seong reached out and caught his slumping torso.
His golden hair flew up into the air from the momentum, then slowly settled.
“Cut!”
Director Oh Young-tae gave a satisfied signal.
When Tae-seong acted himself, the shoot wrapped at his call.
For him to shout “cut” with such satisfaction after one take meant they had nailed it.
“Good work.”
“Thank you.”
Tae-seong patted Gabriel’s shoulder as he stood, then went to check the footage.
As soon as he stepped away, the female staff swarmed Gabriel like they’d been waiting.
“You’re an amazing actor!”
“Are you professionally trained?”
“Here, let me wipe your sweat.”
“Wet wipes!”
Tae-seong smirked at the sight.
‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen that.’
It wasn’t the first time he and Gabriel had moved together in the human world.
Across many lives, they’d traveled alongside each other for various reasons.
Every time, Gabriel was always surrounded by women.
Sometimes men with unique tastes threw advances his way too.
His kindly nature toward everyone often led to misunderstandings, and he’d gotten into trouble more than once.
“Director, this take is good to go as is.”
Tae-seong refocused on the footage at Oh Young-tae’s words.
Just as he said—even for a first take, everything was perfect.
Gabriel’s acting, in particular, was outstanding.
“Let’s move on to editing.”
“Yes!”
It was the first time in Otherworld Chef history that a single take earned an OK.
* * *
Episode 19 of Otherworld Chef went live.
As a show with a massive fandom, views shot up fast.
It uploaded at a precise time, like a broadcast drama, so plenty of people waited for it.
Especially after the announcement that season 1 would end at episode 20, reactions had heated up even more.
Otherworld Chef followed a standard formula.
An incident occurs, the protagonist makes food to resolve it, the issue wraps up, and the final scene ties into the next episode’s event.
Episode 19 was no different.
That formula was prime fodder for critics.
But viewers of the Otherworld Chef drama focused more on the food than the plot or characters.
So most didn’t mind the repetitive structure.
Episode 19, though, was a bit different.
The first half flowed similarly, but the latter part diverged.
“Huh?”
“What’s this?”
Viewers watching the video felt curiosity spike as the screen shifted to a first-person view racing through a dark forest.
Soon, the viewpoint spotted a tribal village.
He burst through the door of one building.
There, Tae-seong emerged to support him.
The camera angle switched, revealing his face for the first time.
“Whoa...”
“What?”
“Why’s he so handsome?”
“Who is that guy?”
Viewers who saw the face reacted the same way.
It was Gabriel’s media debut.
* * *
Gabriel’s appearance hit like a bombshell.
Right after episode 19 dropped, he topped portal site search rankings.
Buoyed by that hype, Otherworld Chef hit number two.
The top five were all Otherworld Chef-related terms, showing the massive ripple effect.
“Looks like everyone’s curious about who you are.”
Gabriel responded while brewing coffee.
“If too much attention focuses on me, it could hurt the show. You okay with that?”
“Quality comes first. Besides, up to now, Otherworld Chef has been driven solely by the protagonist. It’s time for another character to step up. One with real presence.”
Presence.
It could mean personality, speech patterns, or even fighting style.
In novels, the former shine brightest, but media is different.
With visuals, looks become a huge factor in presence.
“And the original fans love it.”
Truth be told, the drama version hadn’t drawn many original fans.
The story and key characters felt distant from the source, and it lacked that “otherworldly” vibe—major hurdles.
But Arkel’s debut was rapidly pulling them in.
Proof: Otherworld Chef’s fan cafe was buzzing with real-time posts.
[Anyone know who the Arkel actor is?]
[Arkel sync rate?]
[This is beyond original-level Arkel, right?]
[Shouldn’t they redraw the webtoon character? The drama version syncs better.]
Some posted comparison shots of the webtoon and drama Arkel.
Overwhelmingly, the drama version won for fidelity.
“Gabriel, you’ve already got a fan cafe.”
“A fan cafe?”
Gabriel handed Tae-seong his coffee and glanced at the monitor.
An internet window showed a fan cafe named [A.S.M.O.].
“A.S.M.O.?”
“Arkel Lovers’ Gathering, shortened.”
“Haha...”
“And membership’s already over 30,000.”
Gabriel’s debut had sparked a phenomenon.
* * *
Casting Gabriel as Arkel was a masterstroke.
His looks perfectly embodied the “peerlessly handsome” description from the novel, drawing in existing fans and new viewers alike.
Exactly three days after episode 19, YouTube subscribers doubled, and average views tripled.
There were side effects, though.
“This is...”
Tae-seong scratched his head at the scene before him.
Hundreds of people crowded the filming location.
“Hey! Stop pushing!”
“This is private property! You can’t just come in!”
“Please cooperate with the shoot!”
Staff tried blocking them, but they were outnumbered.
Their goal was singular.
“Let us see the actor who played Arkel!”
“I just want to see Oppa’s face!”
“I love you, Arkel!”
They’d all come for Gabriel.
“D... Director.”
Oh Young-tae approached, looking flustered.
“What do we do? If this keeps up, it’ll cause trouble nearby. The set could get damaged too.”
“Let’s set up security first. And get permission from the locals.”
“Got it.”
For now, standard measures were all they could take.
They called a security firm and quickly stationed guards around the set.
They also visited nearby shops to apologize to the merchants.
Out-of-towners causing a ruckus could hurt their business.
But the merchants’ reactions weren’t what they expected.
“Huh? Sorry for what? Those folks are coming to my restaurant, buying stuff at the convenience store. I’m grateful.”
“Yeah. Why would outsiders come here otherwise? No tourist spots nearby, nothing to see. At least you’re filming and drawing them in.”
“Exactly. Don’t worry—just keep shooting here. Don’t go anywhere else, alright?”
The merchants and villagers saw it as an opportunity.
Truth be told, this neighborhood around the filming site had no real draws.
An aging district in a small city—no reason for tourists.
But as Otherworld Chef blew up, outsiders flooded in, boosting local shops’ sales.
Lodgers increased too, breathing life into the whole area.
From the villagers’ view, it was cause for celebration.
“Good thing the locals are on board.”
“Yeah, but we can’t keep this up forever. Safety issues, and it’ll disrupt filming.”
“Time to relocate the set?”
“Probably.”
Bzzz-!
Tae-seong’s smartphone buzzed then.
He checked the number, excused himself to Oh Young-tae, and answered.
“Yes, Jeong Tae-seong speaking.”
-Hey~ Director Jeong? It’s Lee Gil-su.
Lee Gil-su.
Owner of the farm shed they’d rented for Otherworld Chef.
Only one reason for him to call personally. And sure enough, it was exactly as expected.
-About that shed rental fee. I think it needs to go up.
It happened often.
When business boomed, rents hiked at renewal.
Same with the shed.
The issue was the increase.
-50 million won a year seems fair.
The current yearly rate: 5 million.
A tenfold jump.
Absurd.
But Tae-seong stayed calm, said he’d discuss it, and hung up.
Oh Young-tae’s face flushed red hearing the proposal.
“What the hell? Is he insane? Jacking up the rent tenfold out of nowhere? That’s extortion!”
Flies always buzzed around a funeral home.
Tae-seong’s mind raced with ways to swat those flies.
Then a sedan pulled up and stopped near them.
Two men got out and approached Tae-seong.
“Are you Director Jeong?”
“Yes. And you are?”
“I’m Lee Hyun-min, section chief at Gangwon Provincial Office.”
The man calling himself Lee Hyun-min handed over a business card.
It boldly read “Gangwon Provincial Office.”
“We’re running a project to boost Gangwon’s tourist spots. Heard the hot drama Otherworld Chef is filming here, so I came by.”
From Lee Hyun-min’s words, Tae-seong could guess what came next.
“We’d like to invest in the drama. Got a moment?”
Hearing that, Tae-seong decided how to deal with the flies.