Unexpected Synergy (4)
When does a person get the most pissed off?
When a 30% viewer rating crashes down to the 10% range? That's more despair than anger.
When you're called into the president's office and get reamed out? That's mostly self-loathing.
The real answer is:
When the other side is gleefully pounding away at you, completely ignoring and shitting all over you.
"Those goddamn MBS bastards...! Do they think we're total idiots...!!"
Go Beom-su, CP of KBC's Black Forest, exploded in rage.
Unusually, even the PDs and staff were nodding along, their faces flushed beet red.
And for good reason—the talk of the town lately wasn't Black Forest, nor was it King and Sovereign.
At first, that bizarre thing was just a laughingstock.
But in two weeks—
Just two weeks, and that freakish thing had slyly claimed the throne.
Unbelievable.
No one in the broadcasting world had seriously considered this show a rival.
But the moment Kang Min parachuted in, it demolished its time-slot competitors, bulked up its ratings tenfold, and started crushing everything else.
Up to that point, fine—unavoidable.
The problem was that its stars were none other than King and Sovereign's twin pillars: actor Kang Min and writer Baek Chae-i.
"Even giving Kang Min the full benefit of the doubt!"
Go Beom-su bellowed.
"Shoving in a writer from an ongoing drama mid-broadcast?! How much of idiots do they think we are to pull this crap!!"
"Exactly!"
"How can they disrespect us this much...!"
Of course, MBS higher-ups hadn't wanted this either—not even a speck—but the public didn't see it that way.
More precisely, people thought King and Sovereign was straight-up ignoring its rival drama. Naturally, the Black Forest team became the butt of jokes again.
For Go Beom-su himself, his face couldn't help but burn crimson.
Winner, my ass...
How could a winner stoop to this level of villainy...!
Picturing the sleazy bald head of MBS's drama division director, Go Beom-su ground his teeth.
This was intolerable.
He had to land one solid hit somehow...!
"Episode 19 this week—that's Black Forest's peak of peaks! That's where we make our stand!"
"...B-but in King and Sovereign Episode 18, Hui-yul exits. No matter what, their impact—"
"Story-wise, that guy's destined to die mid-season anyway. And once that damn Kang Min drops out, some viewers will bail for sure."
"......."
"We absorb them."
No one objected. Everyone's lips tightened.
Even those who hated Go Beom-su shared the desire to smack down the sneaky(?), evil(?), and utterly shameless MBS.
And hey, there was one ray of hope.
Hui-yul's exiting? Worth a shot then?
Two episodes left without Kang Min...
If Kang Min's gone...
Sure, inertia will keep some watching, but still...
One actor leaving wouldn't change much, but to the Black Forest staff, Kang Min was special.
Actually, it was closer to trauma.
How many times had they sweated bullets building something, only for a single "Yeah, Hui-yul" to blow it down like the Three Little Pigs' houses?
But if that huffing wolf vanished...
If that happened, they might pull off a final reversal...!
"King and Sovereign's ratings dipped last time, right? 38.2 or something?"
"38.3. Still terrifying, but Hui-yul's reduced screen time was a big factor."
"So if Kang Min fully exits... it'll drop more?"
"Yeah, but near the finale, inertia will carry it."
"Still better than now, right?"
Anything's better than now—
No one disagreed.
The crisis sense that they couldn't let Black Forest end like this, the burning zeal to hit back at the dismissive(?) MBS.
Maybe...
Even Jo Yun-a, a junior from Seo Bom's agency and a supporting actress, swallowed hard.
Maybe, just this once, it could work!
Not long ago, her mother had visited a shaman again.
And the shaman's reading on actor Kang Min's fortunes this year?
'Right before grasping what he wants, he'll slip, wail in agony...!'
Sitting in on the meeting, she gazed at the fired-up staff, PD, and CP.
Black Forest had never been this united.
Not even under Han Ye-seul.
Jo Yun-a clenched her fist.
Sorry, Bom unnie, but this time it's that Kang Min oppa's turn to get smacked down...!
The PD and staff who had led Black Forest's golden age thus prepared their final blow.
And they had allies.
"The time has come."
The SBC You with Many Secrets team.
PD Jeong Min-jae—recently earning nicknames like "Mr. 1.7," "King of Ratings," "Master Turns Academy into Shitcademy"—declared it, eyes gleaming.
"Black Forest has hit rock bottom, and that annoying Kang Min's exiting. Meanwhile, we've built our foundation."
"Foundation, huh..."
"Yes, a foundation solid enough to handle even some crazy stunts."
Jeong Min-jae smiled at the skeptical faces.
Above all, his mentor was a peak master blending orthodox and unorthodox strengths.
Now was the time to unleash the chain attacks on that foundation.
"Let's start with the birth secret and paternity test."
"?"
#
While the two rival networks prepared their card to smack down the vile, arrogant MBS, the MBS drama division was naturally hiding its worries about Episode 18.
Hui-yul's exit was bound to trigger a massive viewer shift, and they had ears sensitive enough to pick up the rivals' shady vibes.
Drama division director Kim Kang-hyeon thought there was no need to risk it from the start.
He promptly sent down an official memo.
The content went like this.
"Delay Hui-yul's death?"
"Yes, writer-nim. The higher-ups want to push it to the finale if possible."
"S-sorry, but... doesn't PD-nim know better than anyone that doesn't make sense?"
"...Of course."
The fateful duel of the two titans.
There, Hui-yul neither allied with the Left State Councillor nor outright opposed him.
Prince Yi Min inherits Hui-yul's will. So ultimately, they had to show that disciple standing alone somehow.
But with so much riding on King and Sovereign, dramatic structure took a backseat.
Yu Ho-hyeon cleared his throat awkwardly.
"Still, there are ways, right? Leave him MIA for now, reveal him at the end."
"Hmm."
"P-plus, actor Kang has the title of appearing throughout. It'll help big at year-end awards, especially."
"That's..."
Baek Chae-i was momentarily speechless.
Typically, even among "leads," there's a clear hierarchy.
Official site character intros follow importance order, often labeled "Lead 1," "Lead 2," etc. And crucially, whether they appear in the finale.
Missing the last episode means a penalty for lead awards.
"Sure, actor Kang's beyond that level, but he's still a rookie too. We should consider it."
"Yeah, you're right."
Baek Chae-i had to agree. She couldn't bear Kang Min getting snubbed at year-end awards anyway.
But after Unbelievable Episode 1081 filming, she swallowed her words.
"No need."
"Pardon?"
"Hui-yul exits in 18. That's enough."
"Writer-nim! Wasn't that settled?!"
"Telling me won't help. It's Min-i's call."
"Huh...? Did he say something?"
Of course not.
If asked, Kang Min would've just blinked and said, "What bullshit is this?"
But Baek Chae-i's eyes burned with conviction.
"No, nothing like that."
"Then..."
"But he showed me. Made me see it myself."
"......?"
Early on, Baek Chae-i had wondered why Kang Min took on that freakish Unbelievable.
The public said MBS pressure; she'd half-believed it.
But really?
At our first meeting, Min-i didn't mention his terms at all. Just insisted on the script itself and why Hui-yul must die.
She still vividly recalled that earnest face. A man like that wouldn't bend to higher-ups.
So why?
Actually, Min-i's rarely straight-up asked me for anything.
Instead, he'd given her endless inspiration.
Through acting, or a few words of encouragement.
It had to be consideration.
If all that was intentional—and it still is now...
Then Unbelievable had intent too.
Baek Chae-i realized it after seeing his two roles.
'Pavlovsk Experiment Nation Doctor.'
He's no born hero.
He's an everyman, selfishly clinging to ordinary life, hiding it behind a mask.
But when the mask shatters, alone with no one to judge—
He becomes a hero.
Ode to humanity.
'Ecuador Priest.'
He's a born hero.
Mission-driven, willing to die for his cause, bound by extraordinary altruism. He wears no mask, utterly honest.
But when that sincerity draws crowds, followers multiplying—
He turns demon.
Critique of humanity.
So,
Which was Hui-yul closer to?
"Hui-yul's a walking contradiction—no one calls it out thanks to the acting, but yeah."
"Contradiction?"
"He joined the revolution. Killed people. Realized it was pointless, fell into cynicism—that's fine. But if he truly thought it wrong, shouldn't he have tried fixing it?"
In King and Sovereign's early arcs, after the crown prince's exile, he witnesses the wretched commoners' lives and falls silent.
The prince was clueless.
The Left State Councillor knew and exploited it with blood and wealth.
But Hui-yul? Nothing.
Why?
Thought it was fine? Or didn't care?
"I interpreted it as despair with the world. Then meeting the prince, mutual influence, sparking hope."
But Kang Min's acting differed.
Baek Chae-i could finally be certain.
No.
That wasn't it.
"Hui-yul just knew. What he'd become if he took one more step—he knew best himself. So he sought someone who wouldn't."
An extraordinary man with extraordinary beliefs acts extraordinarily.
How horrific that can get? The Ecuador priest shows it.
Hui-yul knew.
So he waited.
For someone foolish, pathetic, incompetent, frustrating, clueless—but different from him.
Not the Ecuador priest, but the Experiment Nation doctor.
Not the Iron-Blooded Sovereign, but the King of Non-Action.
That had to be the Hui-yul Kang Min pierced from his first performance.
"......."
"......."
"......."
Everyone just listened, speechless.
Yu Ho-hyeon PD, the attending staff—all of them.
An actor intuiting that from the character intro.
A writer ultimately seeing through that actor.
For folks scrambling from side-script chases to spice up clichéd tropes, it was a mind-numbing realm.
Well, of course—
──It was all misunderstanding.
"...Did actor Kang really think that far?"
He didn't.
"I'm sure. That acting couldn't come overnight."
It did.
"It was weird, Hitler of all things! Who just wants to play Hitler?!"
Kang Min did.
"You two knew from the start!"
Kang Min didn't.
Kang Min's pure desire to do Hitler and Unbelievable twisted through interpretation into something profoundly bizarre.
But in modern art, isn't the interpreter's take what matters?
No one asked Kang Min.
A truly postmodern tragedy.
"Then, that script..."
"Yes. No major changes."
Baek Chae-i pulled out the final script.
Eyes full of certainty.
"But this'll do. In Episode 18, Hui-yul wraps perfectly."
"Hmm."
The final dagger to slit Unbelievable's throat—and Kang Min's.
Handed to Yu Ho-hyeon.
He pondered it oddly long.
Maybe sensing Kang Min's desperation, hesitating at the last second—nah.
"Uh, I have an interview in three days. Right after broadcast."
"Interview?"
"Just a filler print piece, but spilling this there? Perfect. Reveal it was all actor Kang's idea!"
"Oh...!"
"That...!"
And so, as the dagger was Damascus-forged, completing Kang Min's tragedy,
A different tragedy brewed.
#
Brand ambassador.
Once just promo models, their role had ballooned lately.
Not just popularity and image—social media, events, content marketing doubling "brand currency." Must fit current concepts, above all, be the brand's "face."
Those selecting them? Untouchable VIPs.
...But even VIPs get gut-punched sometimes.
"These crazy fuckers!"
The Korean GM of global apparel brand Ray Goldmary clutched his head.
More like, losing his mind.
The directive from above was that retarded.
"Angel and demon? Angel and deeeeemon? Do these idiot designers not know trends?! Are they insane?!"
"...W-well, the outfit eval's good at least."
"Fashion's one thing, but this promo concept is bullshit!! What era is this for angel-demon crap! I guarantee, poster a model with angel wings on the store wall? Foot traffic flees barefoot!!"
"Hmm."
The subordinate couldn't argue.
Ray Goldmary's flagship in Myeongdong's heart—4 floors, 1,500 pyeong.
Giant poster with angel wings on that wall...
Any pretty face, internet crucifixion in a day.
"Th-they didn't say must be angel wings. Something expressing humanity's good and evil crossing clearly and essentially? Fine to sub that..."
"No clue what that means, you?"
"......."
"......."
"...Gotta go with angel wings."
"Demon tail too."
The GM faceplanted.
Horrific.
Disaster obvious, yet ordered? Worse.
...Still,
No choice.
Deflated GM asked.
"So, who to pitch ambassador offers to?"
"...Gotta find mid-tier who can rock wings first."
"Yeah..."
The GM sighed deeply.
Whatever, find the least disastrous option.
He began picking personnel, mustard in tears.
Until three days later.
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