The Last Effort (2)
King and Sovereign Episode 18 aired a week ago,
Baek Chae-i was receiving a phone call from someone she really didn't want to hear from.
"Be honest. It was a lack of ability, right?"
"......"
Grinding,
Baek Chae-i clenched her teeth without realizing it.
As mentioned, King and Sovereign Episode 18 had been engulfed in fierce debates of praise and criticism. And since people had praised Kang Min's acting as "whatever it was, it was amazing," the harsh criticism mostly fell on the writer.
She could accept that.
She accepted it, but—
"The script itself was overflowing with confidence that there wouldn't be any mixed reactions. But in the end, half the people were like, 'What even was that?'—"
"Are you calling just to pick a fight, PD Han Ye-seul?"
"Hey, compared to you, Writer Baek, that's nothing."
She could practically hear the sneer.
No, how the hell did she even get this script in the first place?
Baek Chae-i trembled with rage but couldn't really refute it. In reality, Episode 18 hadn't turned out even half as she'd intended.
And the reason was—
"The actor was too bright, right?"
"......"
Superstar Kang Min had stolen an enormous amount of focus, beyond what Baek Chae-i—or even Yu Ho-hyeon—had anticipated.
As a result, all the scenes that should have relied on metaphor and contrast became meaningless, leaving viewers either marveling "That actor is insane" or wondering "What the hell was that?"
Setting aside the record-breaking ratings, as the writer herself, she couldn't help but feel a sense of self-loathing for riding on the actor's coattails...
"...Are you really calling just to pick a fight?"
"No, I was just calling to say thanks."
"Pardon?"
"Alien. Alien... Now I finally get what that actor was going for!"
"?"
If Kang Min had heard that, even William White could have joined in saying she had no clue.
Anyway,
"Oh, by the way, where's Actor Kang right now? No more filming, but his phone's off..."
"He's probably in the middle of filming. TVM."
"Pardon?"
#
"......"
"......"
A little earlier, at KBC's Black Forest.
An ominous silence hung over the team that had once been awaiting only glory.
To be precise, it was closer to despair.
"King and Sovereign Episode 19, 43.2%..."
No sighs escaped.
King and Sovereign, which had been cruising smoothly, hit a massive wave of controversy starting with Episode 18, with critics battling it out from all sides over whether it was right or wrong.
Naturally, regardless of the love-hate divide, it hugely impacted the ratings surge to new highs.
To go this far,
To push it this far—
Everyone squeezed their eyes shut like that, but honestly, they were too exhausted to get any angrier about King and Sovereign.
The real problem was elsewhere.
"S, SBC's You with Many Secrets Episode 20, 11.7%..."
"......"
"......"
Go Beom-su CP stared blankly at the ceiling.
5.1%.
That was the final score for Black Forest, which had once soared past 30%.
Black Forest, which had desperately clung to the 10% line against King and Sovereign, got its neck snapped when SBC's Jeong Min-jae went all-in on his insane gambit.
Articles poured in, of course.
It was a drift of truly deranged proportions, challenging domestic censorship head-on before fleeing overseas—the kind that even invoked the name of the king of makdramas.
But to the production team, it looked different.
"We can salvage that. No, they laid the groundwork for recovery from the start."
"Plenty of cards to play up front... Held their breath through single digits like pros."
"Solo 25-episode run, so they'll surge after King and Sovereign ends and flip the narrative. Scary bastard."
No matter what the chatter, what mattered to the Black Forest team was Black Forest.
The staff and actors sat in stunned silence, not even dreaming of a wrap party. Those who'd witnessed a fall etched into Korean broadcasting history had no choice.
If even the PD and leads were like that, the supporting cast had it worse.
Among the supporting cast's supporting cast, Jo Yun-a slunk out of the station, eyes darting nervously.
Her manager cleared his throat awkwardly while gripping the wheel, trying to console her.
"Hey, things don't always work out. But we hit peak ratings, right? Plenty of dramas don't even manage that."
"......"
"...It was my fault, so just drop it."
The manager averted his eyes and focused on driving.
Jo Yun-a let out a long sigh and stretched out her limbs.
Lead actor's daughter role.
Supporting role bordering on extra.
6 minutes 23 seconds total screen time out of 1,200 minutes across 20 episodes.
That was her final report card.
Talk of evaluating her acting skill was nonsense; it was the level where she could only butt in with "Hehe, I was in that hit drama too?"
At least when Black Forest was booming massively, there'd been some hope. But in this funeral atmosphere, it was absurd.
She'd fallen another twenty steps behind her agency senior, Seo Bom.
"Eh, Seo Bom's an outlier. Debuted just months apart from you, and she's already led a Mon-Tue drama."
"...I know."
"Huh?"
"I know."
Jo Yun-a stared listlessly out the window.
Glamorous high-rises gleamed by.
No point wondering why the huddled buildings below couldn't make it up there. Same with comparing herself to monsters like Seo Bom or Kang Min.
She knew it all too well.
As usual, Jo Yun-a swallowed her emotions and shot a blatant frown at her blinking manager.
"Cut the crap and get me a next project! Something with real screen time this time!"
"You think I decide that? It's up to those execs..."
"That's what agencies are for—making it happen! You even gift Seo Bom unnie brand-new toolboxes every month!"
"She's the crazy one."
Cheerfully raising her voice as always, Jo Yun-a quietly tallied her place in the agency.
Three child actors had just turned adult. All rising stars, so the agency would push decent roles their way out of loyalty.
That meant drama slots were basically cut off with their contracts; she'd wait over a year. Movies? No chance.
Best case, screen time like this—or less.
Wiztone Entertainment was praised as an angel in the industry, but it wasn't a charity. At three years in, with momentum half-broken, they might even consider pulling investment soon.
Then—
"But is it true Seo Bom unnie flipped out? After the Unbelievable lab episode?"
"Yeah, she did. Gave me rice... something about that, bawling her eyes out."
"Guess a top actress's emotions are beyond a manager like you."
"What makes you different?"
"Whoa, straight-up dissing your artist now!"
"Hah."
Then, what to do?
With those thoughts, Jo Yun-a kept up the cheerful banter as usual.
And the manager casually dropped it.
"Oh, got you a variety gig."
"Local broadcast again? Sigh, I'm over wandering rural homes—"
"No, TVM."
"?!"
#
And two days later,
Tricked—
Jo Yun-a muttered that upon seeing the massive "Rookie Actor Special" banner.
TVM's Wine Talk.
This clusterfuck talk show typically featured one main guest, a few supporting roles, and a bunch of extras reacting from the back. Sure enough, Jo Yun-a was cast as one of those extras.
She let out a long sigh, eyeing the chairs smack in the set center and the extra seats crammed behind.
"Doubt my face even shows once the whole broadcast... And I'm not even a rookie after three years debuting."
Still, better than rotting in her room—it was pocket money at least.
Maybe since Black Forest bombed spectacularly, they'd give her a focus moment.
As staff bustled about, clutching that hope, Jo Yun-a decided to shrink into an inconspicuous corner.
Of course, the "Rookie Actor Special" was just hype for scale; there was one real face of the show.
Jo Yun-a blankly stared at the poster on the set wall.
"Kang Min, huh."
A bit surprising. The guy who'd shown zero interest beyond acting was doing variety?
As someone who'd overheard Seo Bom's delusion-packed stories—which anyone could see were that—she had some curiosity about Actor Kang Min.
Plus, he was the one who'd crushed her little dream.
"Well, from what I've heard, he's impressive. Old-school idol vibe, like 'Look at me, I'm the best.'"
Just from his closeness to Seo Bom, or the chair count prepared for him alone.
They lived in different worlds.
Jo Yun-a felt a bit down.
Not that it was his fault, obviously—but
"That's too much."
"Pardon?"
"Kyaaak!"
Jo Yun-a fell flat on her butt.
Her round eyes widened to saucers upon recognizing him.
A tall man with a cold expression looked puzzled.
Jo Yun-a clamped her mouth shut.
Reflexively.
"K-Ka...!"
"Kang Min."
"I know!"
"?"
Kang Min tilted his head; Jo Yun-a's brain tilted.
No sense at all. Why was the star who should be entering to roaring cheers from anxious staff lurking by the set's back door?!
A few staff who'd spotted Kang Min were freaking out and rushing over.
But the real shocker came next.
Kang Min asked with a serious face.
"You're Actor Jo Yun-a, right?"
"Yes? How did you..."
Ah, did unnie tell him? She'd been moping about no contact, probably bluffed—
That barely formed realization didn't last.
Kang Min bowed deeply.
"Hello, sunbaenim. Your junior wanted to greet you properly."
"Kyaaaaaaaah—!!"
"?"
"No, I didn't tell you to bow! Don't look at me like that! Seriously, no!!"
Jo Yun-a (22, early birthday) flailed her limbs wildly at the puzzled Kang Min and the frozen staff.
#
If turning disaster into fortune counted, the PD who heard the hilarious episode decided to save her, assigning Jo Yun-a a seat near Kang Min.
But she wasn't thrilled.
"Weird. I heard actors nitpick seniority like crazy."
"That's for actors who've snagged solid supporting roles! For nobodies like me no one recognizes, you'd have to greet every passing trainee?!"
"...? So do it."
"Gyaaaaaah—!!"
Kang Min was utterly different from what Jo Yun-a expected in every way.
Serious expression, decisive gestures, sharp eyes that made you say "Ah, yes" no matter what.
Yet his actions were somehow off-kilter.
"Complicated."
Kang Min shrugged at her fervent explanation.
"If you're gonna nitpick hierarchy, do it; if not, don't. Why some annoying rule for folks eating the same acting rice?"
"...That's why. We live off others' judgments—can't afford to lose face."
"Does saving face improve your acting?"
"......"
What to say?
Totally different from anyone else, yet somehow familiar.
Well, who raised Seo Bom? Geniuses might just vibe on their wavelength.
Jo Yun-a sighed and grumbled.
"So, what'd unnie say about me?"
"Hm?"
"You recognized me. Must've heard from her, agency junior."
"Dunno."
Kang Min tilted his head.
"First time hearing you're close with Bom."
"Pardon? Then how'd you know?"
"You were in Black Forest? Lead actor's daughter."
"......"
"Impressive stuff."
Jo Yun-a blinked.
Felt like a slap, soon tinged with irritation.
Impressive? For extra-level screen time, that lip service was too much.
As she parted her lips to suppress it and speak—
The production crew bellowed.
"Rehearsal starting!"
"Everyone sit properly for camera setup!"
"Sound check! Left side, numbers order!"
Jo Yun-a and the other actors shut up instantly.
Staff scrambled.
And one man watched the scene with gleaming eyes.
A crocodile grin spread on his lips.
"Yes, Kang Min. You've walked right into hell...!"
Wine Talk's PD Choi Dan-yong.
Prime example of shrimp caught in whale fights.
Recently crushed under Black Forest and King and Sovereign, Wine Talk nearly hit decimal ratings before shifting to 9 PM.
No need to mention how Choi Dan-yong got threshed by the higher-ups.
Burning with grudge, it naturally zeroed in on the cocky rookie actor who'd devoured ratings solo and now crawled here.
A sinister smile crept over Choi Dan-yong's face.
"Heh, first variety? Gonna sting."
Wine Talk's gimmick: Multiple guests plus a separate audience.
NG lines slip out casually, spread via word-of-mouth. Near-real-time effect.
They'd be cautious, but he was a variety newbie. Easy to stir minor controversies.
Ratings boost and a middle finger.
Prep was done.
Format: Chaotic talk show. Mid-show disses galore—the flower's highlight.
He subtly asked a guest.
"You know?"
"Haha, don't worry! Stirring personality drama on a rookie? Piece of cake. No agency backing? No complaints coming!"
"Rumors from acting academy days, no real background known. Scratch when chance hits."
"Ease up, you know who I am."
Grinning smugly at the bold assurance, Choi Dan-yong savored his gleaming smile.
Humiliation ends.
I'll feed him as much shit as he fed me...!
#
"Not really."
"Dunno. They told me to do what I want at the end, so probably grudgingly accepted."
"They passed. When I was in high school."
"······."
"······?"
AH...
Under the audience's piercing glares, Choi Dan-yong squeezed his eyes shut.