Masterpieces Require Sacrifice (4)
Right before the broadcast, the stars of the meeting room at SGS Entertainment were two people.
One was the division head.
The other was the man who had newly earned that division head's trust.
The division head, who usually grumbled that "these days' youngsters are all useless," was extremely pleased with Manager Im Jeong-bae, who had handled things "on his own" neatly and cleanly.
"By the way, Manager Im. What do you make of that Kang Min guy never having an agency all this time? The president casually brought it up last time—do you think we still have a shot at getting in on it?"
"Division Head, if I may be so bold, I think actor Kang Min is overhyped."
"Hm?"
And in that situation, Im Jeong-bae was like a fish in water, puffing up with arrogance.
Of course, his chatter increased even more when the topic turned to someone he had never liked.
"Sure, there's all this fuss about the Emmy lately, but when you break it down, that's it, right? He didn't even win it for a drama. It was just one lucky 50-second ad that blew up."
"Hmmm…."
"Not saying it's not impressive, of course. But does a company like our SGS really need to scramble for it?"
Unlike Yoo Ji-yu's manager, who snorted inwardly at the bullshit, the division head looked intrigued.
It wasn't that Seon-yul's manager outranked him as talent; it was because that Kang Min had once personally rejected an recruitment push by the division head himself.
For those high up, their pride often trumped all other benefits.
Im Jeong-bae had obviously aimed for that.
"Besides, it's not like we haven't reached out to that Kang Min punk before. It'd make us look bad."
"Right, right!"
"And even if King and Sovereign hit 40% ratings, he wasn't lead material back then. Now that he is the lead, he's falling short, isn't he? That's why he's importing big foreign actors—because he's not up to it himself. No need to sweat a bubble like that."
"Hahaha, I didn't realize you were such a gem, Manager Im!"
The division head burst into laughter.
It had only been a few weeks since the exec meeting where he'd been chewed out with "that's why you should've grabbed him back then." Naturally, he was delighted that a subordinate he liked was scratching that itch so satisfyingly.
With his scheme working, Im Jeong-bae got cocky too.
"I hear Harry Gordon and Aisling Lewis are going full throttle today? Just watch—that Kang Min punk made a huge mistake! His bubble's about to burst any day now!"
"Hahaha, you think so?"
"Absolutely!"
"Hahaha!"
And the twenty-three silent SGS Entertainment employees thought the same thing without a word.
'These guys haven't seen the preview.'
As everyone predicted, it didn't take long for the division head and Im Jeong-bae's jolly chat to grind to a halt.
Precisely ten minutes after Must Die to Live episode 13 aired.
It started off seemingly ordinary.
[Another failure, Hye-yeon. Couldn't get past that foreigner this time either.]
[Kuh…]
[Maybe that salsa sauce on your morning sandwich wasn't such a good idea after all?]
[What does the sauce have to do with it?!]
Up to now, Must Die to Live had been stuck in an obvious routine that made the twists of episodes 5 and 6 seem like a fluke.
She tries to approach the 'mansion' where her revenge targets lurk, but endless obstacles block her.
She dodges them somehow, but fails anyway.
In the end, she 'dies' and starts over from the beginning.
This pattern dragged on for a full five episodes.
The two leads' banter was entertaining enough. But doubts were piling up: was the story even progressing?
Gripes were bubbling up here and there.
But amid it all, the dominoes were stacking slowly—and surely.
Endlessly stacked dominoes.
They had climbed to the limit, testing viewers' patience, and now, with one line from the 'ghost,' they began to topple in a rush.
[Why don't you clear it yourself?]
[Pardon…?]
On screen, Hye-yeon blinked.
The tone was casual.
Only the tone was casual.
She stared blankly at the dagger the ghost offered.
A sharply honed blade that could slice a man's throat in one stroke. She'd seen it do just that before.
And at her feet squirmed a man bound hand and foot, mouth gagged.
Hye-yeon murmured unconsciously.
[You mean… kill him? A person…?]
[I'm just suggesting it.]
[But… but until now, you said we didn't need to go that far…!]
[True. But hasn't failure repeated because of that?]
The ghost coaxed her.
It was, metaphorically, like soothing a child—gentle, caring.
[Of course, the choice is yours, Hye-yeon. But we're at a dead end here. Isn't it time to try something different?]
[That's… but…]
[Hye-yeon. Your revenge is just. A fixer hired with dirty money by your blood family is blocking it. What kind of scum move for filthy cash?]
[…….]
[You know it. Some people in this world deserve to die.]
[Deserve to die…]
[Yes.]
The ghost didn't force her.
Didn't pressure her.
Just spoke softly, kindly, of what was right.
[Your family is evil. But it's not just evil— they have wealth, status. The evil of those who can influence many is far more dangerous than petty crooks. Leave them be, and victims like you will keep coming endlessly.]
[Like me…]
[Yes.]
[…….]
[For that, isn't a 'minor sacrifice' or two acceptable?]
Outrageous logic.
Every viewer knew it was bullshit.
But the man's sincere tone and expression made it convincing.
Hye-yeon stammered despite herself.
[Still… we don't have to kill…]
[If you regret it, just rewind. Problem solved.]
[Ah…?]
It was,
a truly massive temptation.
The man smiled.
[Forgot? We can undo anything by jumping off a cliff. If the person you killed didn't deserve it, just rewind.]
[Ah.]
[Any other issues?]
[No, but…]
[Then try it. Don't like it? Rewind and never do it again. We can, right?]
[…….]
Hye-yeon stared blankly at her helper for a moment.
Sometimes quirky, sometimes foolish. But precious—the one who's helped her from the start.
A soft smile.
Gentle eyes.
Reliable mouth.
Beyond all that— a face full of affection.
What reason to doubt him?
Hye-yeon nodded unconsciously.
[Do you trust me, Hye-yeon?]
[…Yes.]
[Then do it.]
Hye-yeon took the dagger. Her dazed eyes looked down at her feet.
There writhed a human being.
A blond foreigner.
Self-proclaimed detective.
[Mmph, mmph…!]
[…….]
[Mmph…!]
Hye-yeon didn't know who he was.
Didn't know how he'd ended up here.
Only that no matter how many loops, this foreigner always blocked her.
The reason was obvious: hired by her blood family with dirty money.
Then, wasn't he evil too?
[──!]
The detective thrashed desperately, trying to speak through the gag.
An unbroken will in his eyes. Even now.
This man would block her.
Keep blocking her.
And inevitably, create more victims like her.
Then,
the most right way to remove this obstacle—
[──]
The flesh-tearing sound was quiet. Like air hissing out.
The self-proclaimed detective collapsed limply.
The camera lingered on the spreading blood, the pupil slowly losing light. Hye-yeon stared blankly.
'Ah.'
Nausea surged.
Beyond reason, a primal scream that this was wrong.
A certainty she'd crossed some unforgivable line. Closer to terror.
I,
I didn't want to do this—
[Well done.]
—and just like that, the nausea vanished.
The man patted her shoulder, as if satisfied.
All anxiety evaporated.
[You know it. As long as that pest keeps interfering, your wish can't come true.]
[Yes.]
[Then victims will keep growing.]
[Yes.]
[So this is the right thing, isn't it?]
Hye-yeon thought blankly.
He's on my side.
So my actions now must be right.
I had no choice.
[Yeah, we can always rewind… it's nothing…]
As the man patted her back, she buried her face in his chest.
And,
come to think of it,
a little,
really, just a tiny bit—
it felt… refreshing.
That unfiltered, pure sincerity slowly bloomed on her face.
And that was enough to stun the SGS conference room.
"Holy…"
"My god…."
The entire actor team, who thought they knew Yoo Ji-yu well, was speechless.
They all exchanged glances, as if questioning what they'd just seen.
'What the hell….'
'From guilt-ridden expression to that seamless transition?'
'Was Ji-yu always this good?'
'Holy.'
Did Yoo Ji-yu even have that in her?
Or had they underrated her?
The doubt resolved when the camera caught the ghost's face.
Everyone held their breath at once.
'Insane.'
'Jesus….'
Up to now, the ghost's smiles never reached his eyes.
Facial muscles moved unnaturally.
People only now realized that endless awkwardness.
Because the ghost had finally broken it.
'No way… he was acting with that in mind the whole time?'
'Total madman….'
Thirteen episodes of obsession.
The resulting smile gap was downright eerie.
At that level, anyone acting opposite would get dragged in—
Sighs bordering on hollow laughs escaped here and there.
"Insane."
"Hey, didn't Choi Manager say he had connections at MBS? Can you check the ratings now?"
"Not like Seon-yul; I don't really have any…."
"I've been poking around everywhere, but they're saying it's skyrocketing. Big talk about whether it'll catch KingSov this time."
"MBS is going all-in, damn."
"Wonder what the haters who dismissed his Emmy ad win will say now."
"They'll yap anyway. Idiots stay idiots forever."
"They said Ji-yu would get overshadowed, but looks like she's blowing up instead?"
"Exactly!"
The conference room erupted as if the silence never happened. Everyone raised their voices in excitement.
But amid the hype, one person was dazed.
No need to say who: Manager Im Jeong-bae.
'What the hell is this…!'
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
'MustDie has been coasting on Kang Min's fame all along! Even critics were starting to trash it! How does one episode flip that…!'
How.
Why.
Why now—
No time to flail. People started side-eyeing the division head and Im Jeong-bae, who had been trashing Kang Min moments ago.
Im Jeong-bae hurriedly opened his mouth to the embarrassed division head.
"Th-that scene just turned out well! It happens!"
"Hmm…."
"They probably prepped that one hard. Feels like a one-off impact play. What matters is what comes next!"
"Next…."
"Yes! They slammed the impact too hard early on! How do they follow it? Looks like the PD got overzealous and messed up—"
Im Jeong-bae's words cut off.
The next scene was a tête-à-tête between the ghost and detective—for the following episode.
The ghost on screen smiled palely.
[Detective, have you ever felt this on a holiday? Wanting to do something, but nothing seems meaningful, so even pointless stuff exhausts you, and you just shut your eyes?]
[…What bullshit.]
[That's profoundly sad, detective. If it lasts forever? Even sadder. They call us homo ludens. Can a human who knows no play truly be human?]
[…….]
[Thus, I'm intrigued. That's my only motive.]
The ghost revealed his true colors for the first time.
Cutbacks flashed endlessly through past 'failures' via montage.
Revisiting them, they were unnaturally contrived. Viewers couldn't miss it now.
And all those setups led to one goal.
[What do you think?]
A man who'd already stabbed for his goal, believing he could rewind—how far would he go?
How far could he justify himself?
And that vengeful heart,
[When even that fails utterly, how do you think a person meets their end? What words will they leave, what emotions will they wallow in, what curses will they spit?]
[Isn't it… truly, truly a magnificent tragedy…!]
Im Jeong-bae's mouth worked soundlessly.
He tried to speak, but nothing came.
What could anyone add to that face, that expression?
By the time he scraped for a nitpick, it was too late.
One manager staring at his phone muttered blankly.
"Trends…."
"Huh?"
"Kang Min and Ji-yu… topping the trends."
"……."
Since real-time searches reorganized into trends, drama entries linking to actors had dropped sharply—to minimize side effects.
But now both actors hit the trends.
Meaning hordes were searching the actors themselves, not just the show.
Excitement surged.
"Internet's exploding! Communities calling for Yoo Ji-yu reevaluation everywhere!"
"Fan cafe's in chaos! Never seen regen like this!"
"Kang Min's even wilder, though…."
"That's par for him! At this uptake? Massive profit!"
"Profit? This is jackpot territory!!"
Gasps poured out as Im Jeong-bae and the division head stayed silent.
Given their earlier chat, no surprise.
But Im Jeong-bae pulled himself together soon enough.
'No, wait. Actually not bad. Ji-yu must've seized the spotlight this ep. Thanks to me pushing MBS openly, right!'
'And who knows otherwise?'
Plausible enough.
He regained confidence.
'Kang Min's… lucky, sure, but whatever. Good scene. Not bad… Even if division head's pissed at me, my stock rises—'
But that mental win didn't last. Soon, everyone awaited Aisling Lewis's entrance.
Shockingly, she played a member of the chaebol family Hye-yeon was gunning for revenge on. Decent role so far.
…But her actions in the story were utterly unhinged.
"……."
"……."
Ten minutes passed.
And about that long since viewers fell into a different kind of silence.
All with dazed expressions.
…And the content left no choice.
[So you found nothing? No clues at all?!]
Slapping with food.
[I said I'd pay any amount! Find that bitch Hye-yeon!]
Grabbing collars and cursing.
[Aaaahhh—!!]
Smashing vanities while screaming.
[I won't forgive, won't forgive—!]
Throwing random tantrums.
Classic over-the-top Korean daily drama villainess scenes poured out endlessly—dated, clichéd.
"?"
"?"
"…??"
Stunned silence flowed.
Utter bafflement.
Everyone blankly eyed each other.
Did they really have a Hollywood star slap someone with kimchi?
Afterthat scene?
For real?
Why?
"So…."
"Uh…."
Internet reactions were the same. Fan clubs, drama forums, mom cafes— all speechless, staring.
Even Im Jeong-bae was no different.
It defied all common sense.
But it didn't last long.
Soon, the one logically explicable scene emerged.
"Wait, hold up… what did we say to MBS again?"
"Definitely… treat Aisling Lewis equally to…."
"Uh…?"
No way,
no way,
even then—
The bad premonition didn't stay one.
Han Ye-seul always kept promises, even if she didn't get it.
[──]
Soon, Hye-yeon—
actress Yoo Ji-yu, who'd shone brightest today—picked up well-mixed kimchi.
Manager Im Jeong-bae's jaw dropped.
Fifteen seconds later, the phone rang.
"Division Head."
"…Yes, President."
"Get that Im Jeong-bae prick up here. Now."
"Yes……."