Am I the Lead or Not?
The community exploded after the airing of episode 4. The news articles followed suit at the same time.
Compared to episodes 1 and 2, the tone had shifted dramatically. If you looked at the proportion of articles about I Want to Stay for Just One More Minute, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that over sixty percent had been about Jang Seon-woo. His fandom was that solidly entrenched.
But by the time episodes 3 and 4 aired, the internet was flooded with articles about Woo Dan-wol. There were even pieces analyzing his chemistry with Ju Ha-ryeong. Reporters chased clicks, and viewers loved Woo Dan-wol’s story.
It was only natural. No one was more sensitive to what was entertaining than the viewers themselves. Ratings dropped during Jang Seon-woo’s screen time and peaked in scenes where Ju Ha-ryeong and Woo Dan-wol shared chemistry. The drama production team finally began making decisive moves.
In other words, writer Seong Da-un had been given free rein.
Jang Seon-woo’s expression crumpled the moment he received the scripts for episodes 8 and 9.
"C-calm down, oppa…"
They were inside a moving car. It was a black van, so no one could see his hysterical behavior. But Seo Se-ah was trembling from the bottom of her heart. She had no idea what Jang Seon-woo might do in this state of extreme rage.
"Hey."
"Y-yes… oppa."
"Turn the car around…"
"…Yes."
Seo Se-ah held her breath. It was a nervous, impulsive decision that completely overturned everything he had said just moments ago. Hadn’t he literally told her that he had been late too often lately and that they should hurry today? His attitude had flipped the second he opened the script inside the car.
“Turn the car around” meant exactly what it sounded like—drive in circles. It was the same excuse he always used for being late. If anything, it was closer to throwing a tantrum than any real reason.
Seo Se-ah did everything she could not to provoke him further. She had to agree with everything he said and never offer advice or talk back. In the end, they arrived even later than usual.
"Haa..."
Meanwhile, a clearly irritated sigh echoed across the filming set. The atmosphere was so uncomfortable that even Woo Dan-wol found himself reading the room. And for good reason—Jang Seon-woo, who was already notorious for showing up late, had crossed the line completely.
It wasn’t just an hour anymore. Two whole hours had passed. Irritation was written across every staff member’s face. To make matters worse, Woo Dan-wol had already finished his scenes. There was literally nothing left for anyone to do.
Everyone had come to a complete standstill. The loss caused by waiting for one person was enormous.
The only silver lining was that the number of scenes featuring Woo Dan-wol kept increasing. It had reached the point where everyone could feel it—even if they hadn’t outright announced, “We’ve changed the lead!”—that the balance had shifted.
Then, suddenly—
"Sorry I’m late~"
"Seon-woo, today you’re…"
"Ahaha, the traffic was really bad. I took a wrong turn too."
"Didn’t you say the same thing last time?"
Director Seong A-reum asked with a sharp edge to her voice. No matter how much of a lead actor he was, he had clearly crossed the line.
"I’m sorry. It’s not like I wanted to be late…"
"You wouldn’t be late on purpose, would you?"
Jang Seon-woo’s expression gradually hardened. He had been called out directly. Yet Director Seong A-reum wasn’t finished.
"I understand that managers can make mistakes, but don’t you think this has gone too far?"
"I’m sorry…"
Seo Se-ah apologized. She had grown so used to it that the look of injustice had long since vanished from her face. But Director Seong A-reum didn’t accept the apology.
She didn’t see it as a one-time mistake. And why would she?
Time was money. Even one person’s time mattered, yet dozens of people on set were tied down. A manager who kept repeating such errors should either be reassigned by the company or replaced entirely. How many times had this happened already?
It had gone far beyond the realm of simple mistakes. And since Seo Se-ah wasn’t actually committing any dereliction of duty, Director Seong A-reum’s irritation was perfectly understandable.
The situation passed in a relatively calm manner. He had apologized, and she couldn’t openly criticize him in front of everyone. Just as filming was about to resume, Jang Seon-woo, fresh from makeup, approached writer Seong Da-un.
"Oh, right, writer-nim."
"Yes, Seon-woo?"
"It looks like my screen time has decreased a bit."
"It has."
"?"
Seong Da-un’s expression was perfectly confident. The one who looked flustered was Jang Seon-woo. He was stunned by her attitude that seemed to ask, Is there a problem?
"I am the lead, right?"
"You were the lead. I’m not so sure about now."
It was a battle of nerves. They were on a tight filming schedule. They were already pressed for time to shoot and edit, and he had shown up two hours late? And not even for a good reason—just the same tired excuse as always.
Her own mood had soured as well. In drama production, the writer held absolute power. No matter how big a star the lead actor was, the writer’s authority stood high.
Of course, if their clash ruined the set atmosphere, everyone would suffer. That was why both sides had been cautious. But in the end, Jang Seon-woo crossed the line first.
"I signed a contract as the lead actor."
"I know. And this is the drama industry."
Hadn’t it been written in the contract? When Jang Seon-woo pressed the issue, writer Seong Da-un answered calmly. This was the drama world. It wasn’t malicious script alteration. They had simply adjusted the direction slightly to reflect viewer feedback.
In other words, they would go with whatever the viewers—the true kings and gods of the industry—preferred. That was her final decision.
There was nothing Jang Seon-woo could do. If he got angry here, rumors of discord would spread. If he argued any further, it would be seen as overstepping his bounds.
Anything beyond an actor’s proper influence became dangerous. For Jang Seon-woo, who had been riding a wave of success, this was enough to drive him insane.
His choice was—
He backed down. The great Jang Seon-woo had tucked his tail.
He ground his teeth and made it painfully obvious how displeased he was, but the fact that he had lowered his head remained unchanged. It was a deep wound to his pride.
With that, today’s filming wrapped up.
And Jang Seon-woo’s complaints began in earnest. First, he threw a tantrum at the company.
But the response that came back was that it was strange for him to complain when the drama’s ratings were climbing higher every day.
Second, he threw a tantrum at Seo Se-ah.
"…What?"
"Hey!!! Where the hell did you sell your sense of responsibility?!"
"Does someone who talks about responsibility throw tantrums at their manager and blame them for everything?"
"What the…"
Jang Seon-woo was at a loss for words. They say when something is too absurd, you can’t even speak properly. That was exactly what he looked like right now.
This was the first time one of his toys had fought back. Did he know? Even while he was throwing hysterical fits and tormenting her, Seo Se-ah had endured it all by remembering Woo Dan-wol’s words.
That was how she had been able to withstand the constant erosion of her self-esteem and the personal insults. And though it wasn’t outright revenge, she had landed a solid blow.
She still had dreams. She wasn’t ready to blow the whistle on everything. If she quit and a new manager came in, the stress Jang Seon-woo would receive would be far from small.
After his manager left, he entered his house and began destroying the interior in a fit of rage. He screamed and smashed objects, releasing all the pent-up fury he had been holding back. Objectively, he had no reason to feel wronged, yet he felt genuinely wronged.
I’ll bury her! He was an entertainer who had only just begun to catch the public’s eye. Jang Seon-woo had overestimated himself more than he realized.
Little by little, he steadied his breathing. Once the explosion of emotion had run its course and he returned to his usual self, he looked at the mess he had made of his house and called someone to come clean it up.
Seo Se-ah had already quit. He couldn’t even vent at the chief manager. So he tore through the house one more time.
After turning everything except the master bedroom into a disaster zone, he quietly sat down on his bed and began typing as usual.
In a virtual world, he revealed himself as a public figure while wearing a mask. Jang Seon-woo wrote on his fan cafe, mentioning today’s events to the fans who cherished him.
Just a little. Just a tiny bit.
"Heh heh…"
A satisfied laugh escaped him. He also smiled contentedly while reading posts about the controversy surrounding Woo Dan-wol. As expected, only his fans were truly on his side.