King of Dying Acting - Episode 23
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Kim Kang-hyeon back in his PD days wasn't the type with any standout hits to his name.
There were a few cases where ratings exploded, but those were mostly thanks to lucky encounters with writers—and even those writers griped that the final product strayed far from their vision. At least among his peers, his reputation was lukewarm at best.
But of course, you don't climb to station chief on luck alone.
What Kim Kang-hyeon, the soon-to-be chief, excelled at lay just beyond the drama's main storyline.
"Ch-Chief, if we make actor Kang Min the star of the special... won't there be spoiler issues?"
"Spoilers?"
"The role of Hui-yul is, well, pretty central to the plot, right? Building the whole screen around him might give away the entire story..."
When the King and Sovereign special was pitched with Kang Min as the top lead, every staffer raised the same concern.
Hui-yul doesn't appear constantly, but every time he shows up, he seizes the spotlight and flips the drama's direction.
A solo special on him would expose the bones of the whole King and Sovereign plot.
Not exactly a fun prospect.
"Hmm."
An SBC O Ji-ho chief might've admitted the overreach and ordered a rethink.
A KBC Jo Young-cheol chief would've bullied his juniors into covering it with direction.
But the MBS chief-to-be saw it differently.
"Not hard at all. Lay it all bare."
"...Pardon?"
"Listen up, you guys are missing the point. Who do you think tunes in out of curiosity about our drama's quality? KBC threw 30 billion at four writers. SBC stuffed theirs with a decade-veteran scribe and proven staff. So why's our show the hot topic right now?"
"That's, uh..."
"Curiosity."
Curiosity about how they dared crash this bloodbath of a market.
Why they weren't playing it safe for scraps but blowing trumpets and flipping the table instead.
And above all, just who the hell this actor Kang Min stirring up all the noise was.
Not all that attention was positive.
But Kim Kang-hyeon was more accustomed to negative buzz than anyone, and he held the card to flip it in one go.
"Not 'that sounds fun.' It's 'let's see if they pull this off.' Impact's what matters now. Not 'not bad,' but 'Holy shit!' reactions. Got it?"
"......."
"The overall story? Who cares. Bury it in impact. With that kid's acting chops, it'll just make 'em curious about the before and after."
"B-But! Then the main episodes carry way too much pressure...!"
"That's Ho-hyeon's problem."
"Chief...!"
Kim Kang-hyeon bulldozed the objections with sheer authority.
Even the president greenlit this mad scheme with a "Well, seems less insane than the actor himself."
And so, the unhinged plan—to bet everything on a rookie and expose the drama's skeleton for his spotlight—was born.
Now, it was actively draining the light from the eyes of Jiho Acting Academy's students.
"What the..."
"No way..."
Kim Kang-hyeon's blueprint to fill a full hour with nothing but Hui-yul got tweaked slightly amid staff pleas and writer Baek Chae-i's input. Veterans like Oh Heon-yeong, Yi Hoon, and Park Seong-ho, plus two leads, got minor roles.
But the impact? Even stronger than an all-Hui-yul hour.
Yi Hoon strokes his fake beard, grinning sheepishly post-makeup.
A quick cutback flashes to Jwaui Jeong on screen.
The atmosphere crushes the room—no empty boasts here.
Even flipped, they're still villains—you never learn otherwise.
Glinting eyes.
A heavy aura.
And a voice like a tiger's earth-shaking roar.
Even students who knew Yi Hoon's prowess reeled under the overwhelming force. On the massive screen? Doubly so.
But the mood shifts fast.
No—one man unilaterally shatters that terrifying momentum.
His light tone belies parched warrior eyes.
A sly vibe, but the camera catches the sheathed sword subtly, drawing eyes.
These aspiring actors—trained observers—sense it instinctively.
Jwaui Jeong's overwhelmed.
The man's sizing him up.
One gap, and he's done.
It's visible.
The man cracks a dry smile.
But his eyes coldly appraise, detached from the smile.
Two expressions coexist naturally on one face.
The public might just go "Great acting." But aspiring actors know the mastery required.
That's why his harshest recent critics freeze in awe.
"What."
"Impossible..."
As shock blankets the room, only Ma Do-jun snaps to.
He yells reflexively.
"Fuckin' directing tricks, that's all!"
"......."
"No lines, just vibes—empty shell! I knew that punk's bottom would show—!"
His forced bile fizzles quick.
The scene cuts again.
Next: the protagonist Crown Prince, beggar-clad, erupting in rage.
The Crown Prince's eyes waver.
He stares blankly at Hui-yul's crooked-stitched, worn red jacket. Visions flood: a child swallowing tears from needle pricks, fighting to finish it.
After hesitating, he squeezes his eyes shut.