Premier Ratings: Solid Success (2)
Is 9.8% really that high?
Jeong Su-ryeon said it with a straight face.
“Don’t go around saying that anywhere. You’ll get flak.”
“Guess it is high, then.”
“For cable, and in the first episode no less—9.8% is ridiculously good. It’s not even terrestrial TV, and cable doesn’t pull numbers like this these days. Just 0.2% more and it would’ve hit 10%. Episode 2 is definitely starting over 10% now.”
“I see.”
“You’re done filming, right? Damn, what a shame. If your role had been just a bit meatier, you could’ve blown up with this drama. Nah, who knows. Your acting was solid in my book. You showed real potential. Hell, a big agency might even come knocking first.”
Jeong Su-ryeon, who’d been rattling on like a machine gun, suddenly widened her eyes.
“Hey! Even if it looks good to you, don’t just sign any old contract that comes your way. Run it by me first, got it?”
“Who was it that reviewed your employment contract for you?”
“Oh, right. You studied law too. Said you’d get your patent attorney license later. Annoying little brother. Mom, couldn’t you have distributed the brain genes a bit more evenly?”
Jeong Su-ryeon grumbled, and their mother laughed in disbelief.
“Go look in a mirror. If I only gave birth to kids like you, everyone would be thanking me. Jeong-hee’s still getting grief from her daughter about why she turned out that way.”
“That’s just her angling for plastic surgery money.”
“Giving birth to a face that doesn’t need a scalpel is more than enough inheritance, you brat.”
“Sure, I’m grateful for that. But it still didn’t get any camera love...”
“As long as it doesn’t hurt your marriage prospects, what more do you want?”
When a call came in from PD Song Jeong-woo, Jeong Seo-hoon flashed it to his sister before picking up.
“Yes, PD-nim.”
-Did you watch episode 1?
“Yes. I watched the live broadcast with my family.”
-If it hit 9.8% from episode 1, we’re definitely breaking 10%. Keep the momentum in the back half, and 20% is possible. This is huge.
“Yes. My sister said the same.”
-30% is for those long-running terrestrial soaps that go 50+ episodes. For a 12-episode cable drama, breaking 10% is above and beyond. I’m aiming for 20%, of course.
Song Jeong-woo chattered on excitedly, a mix of congratulations and self-praise.
-Let’s have a low-key team dinner. My treat—good stuff.
“I’m fine...”
As he started to reply, Jeong Su-ryeon shook her head vigorously and glared.
-Come on. I’ve been wanting to grab a drink with you anyway, Seo-hoon. You don’t drink?
“No, that’s not it. Understood. Where should I go?”
-I’ll send the address. Punch it into your nav. Take a cab if you can.
“Yes.”
After hanging up, their mother asked curiously.
“Who was that?”
“The PD. Wants a casual drink to celebrate the ratings.”
“Oh my. If the PD’s going that far, your role must be pretty big, huh? Makes sense—episode 1 was all our Jin-uk’s face.”
“Seo-hoon one minute, Jin-uk the next. Mom, you gonna forget if you even have one son or two?”
“Take a cab. Even with sober drivers these days, better not to drive after drinking.”
“Got it. I’ll be back.”
***
The meeting spot was a standard franchise barbecue joint in Gangnam.
But the menu prices were anything but standard.
The moment Jeong Seo-hoon stepped inside, he felt several gazes lock onto him.
He’d caught a few on the short walk over too.
Some patrons stared openly, then whispered among themselves.
Is it him?Looks like it.Oh my god, jackpot.Should I ask for an autograph?What if not?Still, just in case... Their murmurs registered on his soldier-sharp senses.
“Seo-hoon! Over here!”
Kim Hyun-tae approached and tugged his arm.
Song Jeong-woo’s group wasn’t in a private room but at a window table for the dinner.
Song Jeong-woo, Kim Hyun-tae, Kim Sang-hee—the three of them.
As Jeong Seo-hoon sat, the stares converging on the table intensified.
Song Jeong-woo, beside him, asked quietly.
“Catch any stares on the way? Not the usual kind—the different ones.”
“Seemed like a few recognized me.”
“Even other tables are clocking you now. Feel it?”
“Yeah.”
“And it’s only been hours since the first episode aired. Who knows—maybe our Jeong Seo-hoon gives his first autograph tonight.”
“Thought you’d book a room.”
“Writer Kim insisted on here. Said she had to witness your first autograph with her own eyes. She was hyped.”
“Felt like it’d spark a ton of inspiration.”
“No clue how watching a first autograph inspires writing, but who am I to know the mind of a creator?”
Then, a group of women in their early thirties approached hesitantly from a nearby table.
Their eyes scanned Jeong Seo-hoon, growing more certain.
“Um, sorry... are you from Illegal...”
“Yes. We’re the production team having dinner. This is actor Jeong Seo-hoon, who plays Lee Jin-uk.”
“Oh my god! It’s really him!”
“See? Told you! No way there’s another face like that!”
“Sorry! Episode 1 was so good! Could we maybe get an autograph?”
Kim Sang-hee, prepared as if waiting, pulled autograph paper and a pen from her bag.
“Your acting was amazing. I’ll be watching live from now on. Hope the drama does even better!”
Kim Sang-hee beamed and even posed for photos.
The women squealed happily, paid, and left.
Outside, they kept turning back, peeking through the glass and giggling.
A few more autograph requests trickled in after. Viewers from episode 1.
Non-requesting patrons just thought, Celebrity, huh? and moved on.
Total: seven groups.
Not enough to ruin the meal.
After settling the bill, they waited for their designated drivers and chatted.
“Decent grub?”
“Yes. Delicious.”
“Not that. I mean, not too interrupted or uncomfortable to eat?”
“No. After just one episode, people recognizing me isn’t a bother at all. Far from uncomfortable.”
“That mindset’s gold. Still, when fans swarm so much you can’t eat in peace anywhere, it wears on you. Famous celebs hide for a reason.”
Kim Sang-hee patted his shoulder with a giggle, following Song Jeong-woo’s words.
“Seo-hoon, know what happens when word spreads and the followers pile on?”
“What?”
“You’ll look back on tonight as your last carefree meal out.”
***
While her brother met Song Jeong-woo, Jeong Su-ryeon monitored viewer reactions.
She scoured fan boards, drama galleries, SNS, major communities—scraping responses nonstop.
Worth archiving or potential trouble posts? All PDF’d and saved.
Secure the keepsakes and evidence from the start.
Thanks to the strong launch, netizens devoted plenty of Illegal chatter post-episode 1.
Mostly raves for Cha Do-jin’s improved acting, Yoo Jeong-ah’s beauty as always.
But plenty gnawed at the rookie actor bait too.
Mostly positive vibes.
Though the gushing over his “bloodline alliance” made her cringe hard enough to die.
Jeong Su-ryeon checked the time, closed her laptop, turned off the light, and hit the bed.
“He is pretty small, though.”
Last she checked, 9? 10 years old?
Tiny in her memory.
As she drifted off, she bolted up, fired up the laptop again.
Netizen buzz was still rolling hot.
Her brother’s name, with far less screen time than Cha Do-jin’s, dominated mentions.
“This... could be... Nah, don’t jinx it.”
You didn’t ask. Were you alive? (1)
