Next Steps (1)
“Haha! Top ratings breaking thirty percent!”
Bureau Director Park Yongo laughed heartily as he checked the numbers for Welcome to Cafe Violet.
Episode 15 had just aired the day before, and during the climax scene the ratings had soared to a staggering 30.8 percent.
With results that extraordinary, the atmosphere inside Studio NMIX could only be at its absolute peak. Their stock price, which had been sliding downward, was steadily rebounding, and broadcasting stations were currently locked in a bloody free-for-all to snatch the airing rights for the next drama.
Even Haneul Park—the filming location for that climax scene and a place that had barely seen visitors—had instantly turned into a packed tourist hotspot the moment the episode dropped.
“Yes. The comments are going absolutely crazy too.”
Na Yeongjin smiled with quiet satisfaction as he scrolled through the community reactions.
The topic currently setting every board on fire was Seol Soyoung, who had hard-carried the climax.
Well… the person who actually recognized Soyoung’s talent wasn’t us—it was the GOAT mentioned in those comments.
Still, Studio NMIX’s image had risen right alongside hers, so they could only feel grateful to that person.
“I’d love to throw a company dinner right this second, but we’re already buried under prep for the next project, so even that won’t be easy.”
Park Yongo spoke with a faintly regretful look.
“As you’ve said so many times, Director, we have to row when the tide comes in, don’t we? Just give the staff a generous incentive. They’re already fired up knowing they’ll be shooting Writer 927’s next work.”
“True. Once you’ve pulled off one masterpiece, the hunger for more is inevitable.”
“That’s fair… but how would you know that, Director?”
Na Yeongjin tilted his head at Park Yongo’s words, which sounded like they carried every bitter and sweet taste of life.
Had this man ever actually produced anything that could be called a masterpiece?
Park Yongo answered without a shred of shame.
“Hmm? I only realized it myself thanks to Writer 927.”
“???”
The sheer brazenness of the reply left Na Yeongjin no choice but to cock his head.
“Anyway, what’s Writer 927 up to right now? I heard he’s been living at JYB all weekend.”
“Yes. He’s already finished casting the idols. Today he’s working on the drama OST with CEO Baek Junyeong—just the two of them.”
“Insane. He can compose too?”
“No. He just explains the lyrics and the exact atmosphere of each track in extreme detail, and CEO Baek handles all the actual composition.”
“Even that alone is impressive enough. I guess someone who writes that well ends up being good at everything in that orbit?”
“Well… the real problem is that both of them are such extreme perfectionists that they literally lock themselves into composition work all day long. Honestly, it’s starting to worry me a little.”
Na Yeongjin had dropped by JYB the day before just to check progress. Watching the two of them spit out tracks at a terrifying pace had left him looking thoroughly drained.
Finish one song and immediately move to the next. The moment opinions clashed, a profound hundred-minute debate would begin. They had repeated that cycle until the number of OST tracks completed yesterday alone reached a full three.
“Hmm… his passion for the next project is something else. The way he’s approaching it feels completely different from the last one too.”
Park Yongo’s expression turned puzzled after hearing Na Yeongjin’s report.
“But why is the writer going this hard all of a sudden? I can understand CEO Baek wanting to revive JYB, but Writer 927 doesn’t really have a personal stake like that.”
“Ah, I heard something about that.”
I want the next work to become hope for people who have given up on their dreams in this busy society.
Those were the exact words Writer 927 had used when persuading CEO Baek.
Reading between the lines, you could catch a glimpse of the writer’s own resolve.
Middle and high school students—the age when you should be dreaming the most, and yet, ironically, the age when the most dreams are lost in Korea.
“Maybe it’s because the writer is a middle schooler himself. There must be plenty of students around him who are slowly losing their dreams. I think he planned Fly High because he couldn’t stand watching that.”
“Hah… his thinking really does run deep. That kind of thing should be our job as adults in the first place…”
“Which is why we need to do everything we can to help him, starting now.”
“You’re right. The moment you think it’s too late is usually the moment it’s still early enough.”
There was just one thing they could never have known.
Why Seo Eunwoo had first conceived of the drama called Fly High, and why he was still pouring such enormous effort into it even now.
Because Fly High was a story made for just one person…
More precisely, for one mother and daughter.
Meanwhile, inside a certain studio at JYB Entertainment.
Seo Eunwoo and Baek Junyeong were both leaning back against the sofa with the faces of men who had achieved enlightenment.
“CEO… are we actually going to die of overwork at this rate?”
“Then maybe let me rest a little.”
“You know what?”
“I don’t want to know, so let’s eat first. It’s pretty late—I’ll just order delivery.”
Seo Eunwoo thought to himself.
Yeah. He’s gotten a lot more prickly than when we started.
I might actually feel a tiny bit hurt?
“Sounds good! Then after we eat, let’s start thinking about the choreography. The OST work is pretty much finished now.”
“Uh… Writer 927? Tomorrow’s Monday.”
“Ah…”
Seo Eunwoo glanced at the clock hanging on the wall.
9:30 p.m.
As a middle schooler, he had no choice but to go to school tomorrow.
Which was why Baek Junyeong allowed himself a triumphant little smile.
At least tonight they wouldn’t be pulling an all-nighter.
“Then I’ll come back again after school tomorrow.”
Baek Junyeong’s face immediately went blank.
“You really don’t have to come.”
“I’m fine with that. Let’s work until this same time tomorrow too.”
“Haha… what kind of person is this impossible to talk to.”
Baek Junyeong shed silent tears inside.
What riches and glory was I even chasing that I signed up for this suffering…
Eunwoo’s relentless grinding and Baek Junyeong’s bloody tears combined to produce OST tracks and choreography that were more than satisfying.
In other words, it was finally time to move into the filming stage.
There was just one problem: they still hadn’t told the JYB idols anything about the drama casting.
Eunwoo had given Baek Junyeong another pointed look for still not having informed them, and from Baek’s perspective it was completely unfair.
Casting, composition, choreography—work had been pouring down nonstop. Where was a human being supposed to find the mental bandwidth for that too?!
Anyway.
As the thoroughly subordinate party in this ironclad power dynamic, he had no real options.
Baek Junyeong hurriedly summoned the four idols Writer 927 had chosen and explained the situation.
For reference, the only female idol was I Dahye; the other three were all male idols.
“What?! You’re telling us to act?”
Kang Haneul, who would be playing the role of Minjae, shouted in shock.
“For the record, I’ll be joining you too. How about it? Already getting butterflies?”
“…CEO, you’re acting? That feels less like butterflies and more like pure vertigo.”
“Then go take some motion-sickness pills.”
The other idols, just like Kang Haneul, looked less than thrilled.
It was only natural. Acting was far removed from their actual profession, and there weren’t even any proper success stories to point to. If anything, the public reaction would just be, “What, an idol trying to act?”—nothing but negative stares.
Of course the situation felt heavy for kids this young.
But Baek Junyeong and Eunwoo hadn’t been unaware of their concerns, so they had prepared a strategy to reel them in.
“But kids, do you know which production company sent us the casting offer?”
“Which one is it that you’re building the suspense like this?”
“Heh heh heh… none other than Studio NMIX came knocking.”
“S-Studio NMIX?!”
The name of the hottest production company of the moment made the idols’ eyes go wide. Even I Dahye, who had been listening quietly the whole time, let out a soft gasp of awe.
“And here’s the most important part—who do you think wrote the story of the work you’ll be appearing in?”
“D-Don’t tell me…!”
“That’s right. The great writer who penned the story of Welcome to Cafe Violet—Writer 927. And for the record, he picked all of you personally.”
The news that Writer 927 had chosen them himself left the idols unable to close their mouths.
But Baek Junyeong’s prepared speech wasn’t finished yet.
“Want to hear who’ll be playing the lead role you’ll be sharing scenes with?”
“Please don’t say it’s Seol Soyoung.”
“It is Seol Soyoung, though?”
“Oh my god…”
Two names currently generating massive shockwaves across the industry.
They would actually appear in the same work as those two and share scenes with them?
At that point the idols were already more than halfway sold.
And for the final blow…
“Ah, right. Writer 927 also handed out handwritten autographs as a way of saying please take care of us. According to him, these are the first autographs he’s ever given in his life? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that makes them rare…”
They say the bribe from Writer 927 made everyone’s eyes spin, and they all accepted the casting offer without a single complaint.