Orthodox and Trendy (5)

Episode 3 clocked in at 19.9%, falling just short of the 20% ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mark by a hair.

But it held steady on the peak ratings for the final 20 minutes without budging, leaving plenty of room to hope for Episode 4.

And the next day, Episode 4 blasted off right from the start at 20.1%.

"Would you ever consider working for me?"

"Struggling to survive might defy the royal will and amount to treason, but it can never be a rebellion against heaven."

The Grand Prince loved those words.

Maybe it was because he'd lived his whole life haunted by a fear of death.

"I gladly offer my life to you."

"Thank you. What should I call you?"

"Just call me a nobody, Your Highness."

The Grand Prince handed him gold and silver, ordering him to come to the capital.

By the time he returned to the capital after finishing his original schedule, the shaman Park Soo-mudang had arrived ahead of him and secured a spot.

"You got here quick."

"How could a lowly one like me keep a great lord waiting?"

"Now tell me. What must I do to survive?"

"You must eradicate the source of the curse."

"Where is it? Can you find it?"

"It will be deep within the palace walls. No power you possess can touch it. That's why you must become king."

"Can I become king?"

"You must. It's the only true path for you, my lord."

Realistically, there was only one way for the Grand Prince to become king.

"Push aside the Crown Prince and take his place, my lord."

Those whispered words pierced straight through his mind, leaving the Grand Prince dazed.

He bit his nails anxiously, forgetting all decorum, as his brother's pure smile flashed in his thoughts.

From that day on, the way the Grand Prince looked at the Crown Prince changed.

But no one noticed the shift in his gaze.

The Grand Prince bowed even lower with greater deference than before, biding his time while growing closer to the Crown Prince.

"Yu-ya, you look pale these days. Is something troubling you?"

"No, Your Highness."

The more the Grand Prince lowered his head, the deeper the Crown Prince's brotherly affection grew.

Stealing glances at the frail Crown Prince's nape, the Grand Prince suddenly wondered how much force it would take to snap it.

He startled himself and scolded his own thoughts.

Deposing a brilliant Crown Prince with impeccable conduct was nearly impossible.

But if he could disguise it as an accident and kill him without anyone knowing...

"Yu-ya, hunting again tomorrow?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Come on, when it's just us, call me brother."

"Yes, brother."

The Grand Prince began subtly instilling in the Crown Prince a taste for the thrill of the hunt, like clothes soaking in a drizzle.

The rush of nailing a mountain hare dead-center with an arrow.

The ecstasy of galloping after a swift deer and piercing its throat.

The triumph of encircling a great tiger with the guards and finally cutting off its breath...

He let those primal pleasures seep slowly, secretly, into the Crown Prince's mind.

"I'd love to join you on a hunt sometime. I'll ask Father for permission."

The Haegeuk viewer board was fairly calm.

No over-the-top praise, just straightforward impressions.

Most were cautiously optimistic, watching and waiting.

Serious historical drama buffs frequented Jeong Seo-hoon's BiLab fandom site.

But the fans ignored them relentlessly.

No matter the views, comments stayed at zero.

The BiLab fandom just tore into each other, chewed, ripped, and sucked it up among themselves for fun.

Jeong Seo-hoon visited school once a week.

He'd arranged to cover all classes with assignments and papers. Midterms and finals were non-negotiable, though.

Lately, a few classmates had started asking for autographs here and there.

Following Ha Tae-soo's advice, Jeong Seo-hoon signed for them kindly.

Mostly twenty-year-old freshmen.

"Last year, I was glued to Illegal live broadcasts and couldn't focus on studying? Barely scraped by on the entrance exam."

"Still made it here somehow."

"I studied my butt off cuz I wanted to go to the same school as you, sunbae!"

"Oh yeah? Good work."

Last year's incoming class was under 10% female.

This year? A whopping 40%.

It was such a shock that "Electronics dept guys wiped out!" dominated the anonymous forum for a while.

"But I'm done after this semester."

"Huh? Aren't you going to grad school?"

"Heard you'd do grad school alongside acting and professor as a hobby later?"

"If you become prof and start a lab, we'll go to grad school too."

"Never really thought about grad school. Where'd you hear that?"

"It's all over among the freshmen."

"Anyway, grad school's not decided."

The freshman girls couldn't hide their disappointment. Must've been hyped.

"Dreamed of doing masters/PhD under a advisor like you..."

"Someone with your brain not teaching is Korea's huge loss! Uh, not saying quit acting!"

"Can't you just do both prof and actor? You could pull it off."

"Um, but do you come to dept MTs often?"

"Dept MT? Does our dept even have those..."

Every time he came to meet professors, first-years swarmed like they had a sixth sense.

Luckily, they only trailed him to the office door before scattering.

"Jeong, come on in. Word is you're super popular with the girl freshmen?"

"Newbies these days catch every drama episode. Different from our time."

Even so, the age gap between freshmen and Jeong Seo-hoon was just two years.

"Your two works last year jacked up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠our dept's admission ratio big time. Once you're prof, grabbing grad students will be a breeze. They'll line up to be your slaves."

"Prof, kids these days even time their serf duties. Gotta wait years to build a proper lab."

After a quick mid-review of his thesis draft doubling as graduation paper, Lee Se-jong shifted topics slightly.

"But is Haegeuk doing that badly lately?"

"No, sir. It's dominating ratings among all current dramas."

"I peeked at viewer reactions—mostly gripes."

"PD and writer have so many hits, expectations are sky-high. They're watching like '20% is baseline, duh.'"

"Hm, makes sense. Anyway, no issues with the drama?"

"None, professor."

Jeong Seo-hoon caught a tiny mutter: 'This is a problem...'

If not for his senses sharpening daily since the comet encounter, he wouldn't have heard it.

"Then my investment's safe."

"Completely. Rest easy."

"Honestly, even if it tanks, I wouldn't mind. Just hope it doesn't hurt your rep."

"Probably cuz core orthodox sageuk fans view us cynically."

"Orthodox sageuk? So Haegeuk isn't?"

"Yes. We're more trendy sageuk..."

Jeong Seo-hoon explained briefly, and Lee Se-jong's eyes lit up with interest.

"Feels like watching the Copenhagen interpretation debates."

"Yeah, the setup's similar."

"Then Haegeuk team wins as time goes on. Younger crowds seem more forgiving of fictional liberties."

"As long as it's not malicious distortion, youth give it more leeway."

"Might be ignorance, but they'll win the faction war anyway."

Lee Se-jong unusually fixated on drama talk.

Thesis review felt secondary; like he'd called for drama Q&A.

On-site vibes, shooting methods, ratings process, equipment used.

No investment ROI questions—just pure production environment stuff.

When Paju Studio came up, Lee Se-jong's eyes changed.

"Oh, so that mountain chase wasn't real mountains but huge LED walls indoors?"

"Exactly."

"Impressive. Never would've guessed. Thought it was actual location shoot."

"Upper-body shots from one angle? Unlimited directing freedom."

"I've run micro-LED projects, acquired a few startups. Never dreamed it'd tie in like this. Small world, huh?"

"First thought when I saw the LED wall too. Media world's using it this way—mind blown."

"Can you show me Paju Studio sometime? Gotta see that LED wall."

"Anytime you want, professor. I'll escort you—just call."

"Good."

A 30-billion investor wanting a site visit? PD would bow and roll out the red carpet.

Before standing, Lee Se-jong cautioned.

"Don't lose to orthodox sageuk."

"It's not about right or wrong—just different goals."

"Taejong's Garden. Don't lose ratings to them."

"We won't."

After school, Jeong Seo-hoon headed straight to Paju Studio.

Crossing Hangang Bridge, Ha Tae-soo called.

"Seo-hoon-ah. Another scandal article on you? Man, what's with these reporters."

"Who this time?"

"Chae Ji-hyun. Pics look like from that CF shoot together. Nothing weird, right?"

"Nothing."

"Then leak to journos who believe you? Tell me if there's anything—swear."

"Really nothing. Just sent her hyung first last time, had drinks once. Her manager was there whole time."

"Oh, that? Damn, they wrote it like secret hotel rendezvous. But net comments are clean. Your fandom must've doxxed and fired back."

"Yeah?"

"Insane fandom. Three scandals so far and they're unshaken."

"Don't count noona's. That was nothing. Driving, gotta hang up."

At Paju Studio, Jeong Seo-hoon got the full scoop from Ha Tae-soo.

"Clarification article out, scandal pieces all down. Checked BiLab community—everyone chill. Like 'just a blip' lol, solidifying loyalty."

"My fans toughened up."

"No joke. They're worshipping you as actress killer now. Joking about Han Seo-hee vs. Lee Seo-hyeon love triangle war prep."

Ha Tae-soo showed scraped fandom reactions.

Ha Tae-soo freaked out over the scandal article, then marveled at how fast it blew over.

"Dude, when did our baby fandom grow into this ironclad high school girl army? Battle power's no joke."