Chapter 99: Ten-Million-Viewer Actor (2)
Chapter 99: Ten-Million-Viewer Actor (2)
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Post: I just watched The Chaser and I have one question.
So, if Hong Jeong-hee and Cha Seo-ah fought, who would win?????
Replies:
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As The Chaser continued its box-office run, memes began to spread across various online communities.
Because Seo-yeon had played a string of villainous roles since her return, jokes about her characters started popping up like memes.
Furthermore, the most talked-about aspect of the film was, without a doubt, the "Convenience Store Clerk."
Some argued about why she had to speak up at that moment.
However, others countered that it would be even stranger for Cha Seo-ah, who was originally a student working part-time at a convenience store, not to say anything.
Regardless, the film was such a hot topic that all eyes naturally turned to the actress who had become the biggest breakout star of the movie.
As the episodes progressed, the screen time for Jo Ha-rin—Seo-yeon’s character—continued to dwindle.
The number of comments mentioning this grew steadily.
This reached a boiling point during Episodes 5 and 6, which aired the week after The Chaser was released.
It was so blatant that anyone could feel the intention to keep Jo Ha-rin off the screen.
At this point, even casual viewers began to find it strange.
Such posts even began appearing on the broadcasting station’s official bulletin boards.
Naturally, other communities were even more vocal.
And finally.
"I, Bong-sik, guarantee you: the drama writer definitely cut her screen time on purpose."
"Ah, of course, I saw those too. But if you look closely, the tactics are malicious. I did some digging at the station, and it seems there’s been talk internally. Word is the writer is being stubborn."
"I don’t know if she’s a star writer, but she definitely has some power. Specifically, there are rumors she’s a huge fan of actor Park Jung-woo. But as you know, actress Ju Seo-yeon is constantly getting entangled with Park Jung-woo in various ways, right? People are saying that’s why."
Starting with the words of Han Bong-sik, a YouTuber with 1.3 million subscribers, the rumors began to spread in earnest.
*
"What? A writer change? So suddenly?"
"It’s not sudden, Writer Im."
Director Kim Pil-seok let out a sigh as if he had a massive headache.
"With all this talk going around, I mean, really, what is this?"
As The Chaser became a sensation, Jo Ha-rin was frequently mentioned in online communities.
Fine, that much was expected.
As is usually the case, when an actor generates buzz, interest naturally shifts to their other roles.
This was especially true for Jo Ha-rin, who had an image diametrically opposed to Cha Seo-ah.
However, that didn't mean viewership ratings would climb dramatically.
While the impact of a single actor was impressive, that alone wasn't enough to keep viewers hooked.
But then, the articles about the writer's "power trip" spread, drawing even more attention.
Mostly in a negative sense.
"Producer Baek asked us not to drop you, but word came down from the top. You heard, didn't you?"
"I-I heard, but..."
Im Jin-ha spoke in a bewildered tone.
"Well, even though Producer Baek spoke up, and we were hesitant to change writers because of the risks involved... what can we do when the higher-ups give the order? Writer Im, did you perhaps get on someone's bad side up there?"
Even when he asked, Im Jin-ha couldn't think of anything.
The only thing spinning in her head was the fact that she was being kicked off the drama.
"Well, it’s not like you’re completely blacklisted or finished... so don’t take it too hard. There’s just too much controversy right now."
Director Kim Pil-seok said those words, but he smirked inwardly.
Since she had been difficult to control due to having Producer Baek as her backing, he felt it was for the best that things turned out this way.
It’s not the end, but it is the end.
The current Drama Bureau Director, Ha Tae-oh, wasn't the type to recklessly ruin someone's career.
So, while this incident was extremely unusual, the reasons were justifiable enough.
Public opinion.
Internal issues.
And the fact that viewership ratings had been noticeably dropping lately.
The decision to replace her was made based on the sum of all those problems.
But with this, her reputation as a drama writer will have hit rock bottom.
To crawl back up from here would require far more effort than before.
Could Im Jin-ha actually pull that off?
Given that her internal reputation was already poor, he honestly thought it would be difficult.
Even if Director Ha Tae-oh hadn't personally blacklisted her, Im Jin-ha was already marked by everyone else.
"So, please take some time to rest and clear your head."
At those words, Im Jin-ha looked dazed.
By the time she snapped out of it, she was already back home.
She couldn't even remember how she had gotten there.
Vrrr, vrrr, vrrr.
Just then, the phone in her hand vibrated.
She looked at the screen.
A belated text from Producer Baek.
Upon seeing it, Im Jin-ha dropped her phone.
It was as if her last shred of hope had been snapped.
*
Anyway, while all that commotion was happening within KMB.
Seo-yeon was enjoying a long-overdue rest at home.
"My daughter is a ten-million-viewer actor now! By the time your next drama airs, it’ll definitely have hit ten million!!"
Sua spoke in an excited tone.
"Mom, I want to see the movie Sis filmed, too."
Su-yeon whined, tugging at Sua’s skirt.
But even if she wanted to see it, Su-yeon was only a kindergartner; there was no way she could watch The Chaser.
"Let’s wait until our Su-yeon is a bit older, okay?"
"Hmph."
Watching her whining younger sister, Seo-yeon felt strangely giddy.
A ten-million-viewer actor.
To be honest, it didn't feel real yet.
For the record, Park Jung-woo had become a ten-million-viewer actor at an even younger age than her.
Perhaps because of that, Park Jung-woo had given her some advice.
"All sorts of issues will follow you for a while. And reporters will be watching your every move."
He advised her to keep a low profile for the time being and only travel between designated locations.
School, home, and the filming set.
For the time being, she was in a position where she couldn't even visit her agency easily.
"Seo-yeon, do you know that actress Hwang Min-hwa came looking for you?"
Manager Park Eun-ha said in an excited voice.
It was because Seo-yeon had completely crushed the movie Utopia, which starred Hwang Min-hwa.
At this rate, it was clear it would end its run with around 4 million viewers.
Since the break-even point was 4 million, it was about to be pulled from screens having barely broken even.
It was likely the first bitter failure in Hwang Min-hwa’s acting career.
Thinking that it was all because of Seo-yeon’s The Chaser, a wide smile spread across Park Eun-ha’s face.
"Our Seo-yeon, let’s keep on winning!"
Manager Park Eun-ha said as she gave Seo-yeon a tight squeeze.
It had been awkward at first, but after realizing Seo-yeon had a surprisingly puppy-like personality, she did this often.
That was all the more reason she didn't want Seo-yeon to run into Hwang Min-hwa.
How dare that bitch, who’s like a Chihuahua constantly filled with rage, even look at our Golden Retriever?
Anyway, because of that, Seo-yeon had been spending all her downtime at home lately.
Other than that, her fixed route consisted only of the convenience store and the gym.
As for Jo Seo-hee...
[Congrats. This one’s going to ten million.]
She had simply sent a congratulatory message.
Seo-yeon thought it was a rare, gentle message, but...
[I’ll come find you next time.]
...was the very grim and ominous message that followed.
Seo-yeon stared at it for a moment, tilting her head.
She wondered if it was because of the movie they had mentioned before.
"What did you and Dad think?"
"Hmm?"
"My movie."
At Seo-yeon’s question, Sua recalled going to the theater with her husband, Ju Young-bin, the day before yesterday.
Naturally, the movie they watched was The Chaser.
Though Young-bin had jokingly clamored to watch Utopia, he had surprisingly followed along to watch The Chaser without a fuss.
As for their impressions after watching it...
"I didn't know our daughter could act like that."
"I-Is that so?"
"Yeah. Somehow, it made Mom feel very sad."
Cha Seo-ah was a patient with Alexithymia.
Of course, Seo-yeon didn't actually have the condition, but she did have some brief issues regarding her emotions when she was younger.
Was it because of that?
Or was it because Cha Seo-ah’s emotions—that sadness—could be felt even through the screen? Sua had found herself tearing up.
It was certainly scary, and there was a tension that made her palms sweat.
She enjoyed the movie, but that was the feeling she was left with.
"...Really? Was Dad like that too?"
"Yeah, your father was so worried about you."
Sua’s words made Seo-yeon’s heart feel a bit heavy.
He was a dad she wanted to hit every time he teased her, but she realized he had that side to him as well.
"Oh, speaking of your father, he said a package for him arrived at the door earlier. Seo-yeon, could you bring it inside?"
"Okay."
Seo-yeon, her heart still feeling a bit full, saw the box sitting in front of the door.
It was quite large, and as she picked it up, she reflexively looked at the item name.
[Product Name: <Sword-Proof Vest> Stab-proof Vest!!]
"..."
She vowed to give her dad a good smack the moment he got home from work.
*
By the time The Chaser was heading toward 8 million viewers.
The writer for the drama had been replaced, and filming for Episodes 7 and 8—which had undergone urgent script revisions—was underway.
Since they were rushing to film content that would air this very week, the staff were all in a frenzy.
"A-Ah, hello. I... I’ll be handling the scripts for the time being..."
Seo-yeon looked at the person bowing deeply to her.
She’s small.
She was at least a head shorter than Seo-yeon.
But she was an adult woman, at least six years older than Seo-yeon.
She had heard the woman became a drama writer immediately after graduating from college.
"Ah, she’s a writer who participated as an assistant writer on a movie I was in before. Her name is Writer Min Se-hee."
Park Jung-woo explained on behalf of the stuttering Min Se-hee.
"And she was also participating as an assistant writer on Dream Future."
"Oh, really? I didn't know."
"Yeah. As you can see, she’s quite shy."
Indeed, Min Se-hee was acting very tentatively, glancing at Seo-yeon nervously.
"But her skills are solid. She’s ambitious, too. She’s at the level where she could be a main writer now, but I asked her if she could participate as an assistant writer for Dream Future specifically."
"Aha."
Park Jung-woo chuckled at Seo-yeon’s ambiguous reaction, unsure if she was surprised or not.
For the record, despite joining the project like that, Min Se-hee hadn't been able to contribute much to the script until now.
That was because of Im Jin-ha.
Though she had readily accepted Min Se-hee as an assistant writer because it was Park Jung-woo’s request, she apparently hadn't taken a liking to her.
"I’ve seen the revised script, and it’s very good. You can look forward to it."
"...Pardon?"
"Your screen time has increased quite a bit. Without overshadowing the lead, of course."
"I see."
Seo-yeon felt a bit uneasy at Park Jung-woo’s words.
But why?
Originally, Seo-yeon was supposed to finish filming Dream Future after this week’s shoot.
But now her screen time had increased.
"..."
Somehow, she had a bad feeling.
She had a hunch that her screen time hadn't just increased "a little."