The Final Effort (5)
A deep mountain path.
A girl was stepping cautiously forward.
A flashlight flickered erratically in front of the girl, who swallowed hard. Ominous owl hoots and chilling growls leaked from all around.
A face frozen in terror.
In the silence, only the hurried sound of footsteps continued.
Thud thud.
Thud thud.
Thud thud—drag.
In an instant, a chill shot up the girl's spine.
She hurriedly looked around, but there was nothing to see. Only a sliver of a waning moon, nearly a new moon, gave off faint light.
It must be my imagination.
Just my imagination—
The girl swallowed and quickened her pace.
Indeed, no more sounds came.
Just as she began to relax, thinking it was nothing—
A black doll figure appeared right in front of her!
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground!
Before her trembling eyes, some kind of shape slowly materialized!
The girl desperately scrambled backward with her lower body, while something pursued her with heavy, dragging steps.
The darkness of the new moon.
The monster lurking within bared its fangs, gleaming eerily, and opened its mouth...!
"Perfect!!!!!"
In an empty spot,
Kang Min couldn't hold back his excitement any longer. He burst out of the meeting room and threw a Hiddink uppercut into the air.
#
For some reason, the public thought Kang Min wasn't keen on Unbelievable.
No matter how many times he denied it in interviews or variety shows, it was useless. When he logged into the Unbelievable villain account and posted, "I actually know Kang Min well, and he's super into it," the dislikes doubled to 20,000.
So there was only one answer.
He had to show them directly, in the most Unbelievable way possible, just how much he was enjoying it...!
And today,
Kang Min had succeeded with a genius idea that tied it all together...
Come to think of it, the original Pavlovsky Lab episode was planned to be a bit comedic and heartwarming.
But it failed.
A little—
Very slightly off in the acting direction, maybe.
But Kang Min believed it was mostly the concept itself that was the problem.
But this time, it's different...!
How could a kerangkerang-ing alien be serious?
And while viewers were baffled by the shift in tone, Kang Min would boldly give an interview.
It was all a misunderstanding up until now!
This is the true Unbelievable I wanted to do!
Kuh...!
Kang Min was moved to tears.
An unbeatable setup.
A flawless plan—
If Guus Hiddink or even William White heard this, they'd have no choice but to applaud and cheer.
Han PD getting fixated on Yun-a threw me off a bit...
But thinking about it, the setup wasn't bad. Jo Yun-a could steal the spotlight next to Kang Min, who was determined to go all out.
Good for the sister-in-law, good for the brother-in-law,
And the synergy would only grow even bigger.
Perfect...! It's perfect...!
Kang Min grinned broadly.
This time, the plan was wrapping up flawlessly!
...But as always, the problem didn't start with the ecstatic Kang Min, but with the endlessly depressed Jo Yun-a.
#
"......"
"......"
The Unbelievable meeting room after the session ended. Kang Min and the other staff had all left.
Only two people remained inside.
One was smiling faintly as she organized the minutes, while the other stared at her with turbulent thoughts and anxious eyes.
The latter hesitantly opened her mouth.
"P-PD-nim...?"
"Speak."
"C-Could I resign now, at least...?"
"No."
A cool, curt reply.
An even cooler silence.
Jo Yun-a's eyes shook wildly.
"A-At the very least, let me talk to my agency... Our manager would freak out if he heard—"
"I talked to Wiztone's head office manager earlier, not your team lead. He was thrilled."
"...Pardon?"
"Don't you get it?"
Han Ye-seul swiveled her chair.
Her smile was sinister.
"You've been sold, Yun-a."
"......."
Jo Yun-a trembled and swallowed tears at that Cthulhu's Dice knight-before-the-throw smile.
What is this?
How did it come to this?
I just poked around because it seemed like a chance to see Min oppa—
Han Ye-seul let out a small sigh at her reaction.
"Why are you so against it from the start? You know how well Unbelievable is doing these days."
"Th-That's exactly the problem!"
Jo Yun-a rarely raised her voice, but even that was just a hamster sprouting horns.
Their eyes met briefly, and she let out a "hic" before quickly looking down. Due to school experiences, she was weak against women with furrowed brows and sharp glares...
Even sputtering that much was a win for her.
"The lab episode, the Hitler one... Everyone's expecting that kind of stuff. What if someone like me shows up...?"
"They'll love it. You're popular these days."
"That's...!"
That's not real acclaim—
Jo Yun-a swallowed the words that almost escaped.
Her shoulders hunched, and her gaze dropped naturally.
I'm just lucky, that's all...
She happened to meet Kang Min on that variety show. That was the root of all this.
She knew she shouldn't say it out loud, but that didn't make it any less true.
The doctor in week one, the priestess in week two— what could someone talentless like her do next to that monstrous acting?
She'd only drag Kang Min down.
Why on earth...?
Jo Yun-a even felt a bit resentful toward Han Ye-seul.
Back when she directed Black Forest, Han Ye-seul hadn't treated her like some cow or chicken.
So why now—
"Fine, I'll admit it. I didn't notice at all myself."
"D-Did I say that out loud?!"
"Your face."
"Hic......"
Han Ye-seul sighed again at the trembling hamster.
Truth be told, even she wasn't fully convinced. She couldn't entirely trust her own eyes.
But there was one exception.
"Can't we trust both me and Actor Kang Min?"
"...?"
"I had a chance to talk with PD Yu Ho-hyeon from King and Sovereign recently."
Yu Ho-hyeon PD.
He was so humble it made her feel guilty for calling him a con artist back then.
He credited the drama's success to the actors and writer, not himself, and said he'd never have beaten Black Forest alone. He even praised her.
At that point, Han Ye-seul could almost forget her past grudge(?).
She'd heard some juicy stories too.
"Did you know? Actor Kang Min got into it with Actor Park Seong-ho on his first day of filming."
"What?! What happened?!"
"He charged right at him."
"......Pardon?"
"He didn't like something, so he charged with his acting. At Park Seong-ho."
"......"
Unlike Jo Yun-a, whose face went pale, Han Ye-seul thought it was so very Kang Min.
The Kang Min she'd met was different from what she'd expected.
A bit quirky, a bit bizarre.
But he had this unwavering conviction.
For that belief and will, he'd never bend— that's how Han Ye-seul saw him.
...Though she'd never guess what it was, which was Kang Min's long-standing misfortune.
"You know that story about advising Actor Yi Hoon on his acting."
"Y-Yeah..."
"The Kang Min I know is that kind of person. No compromises when it comes to acting."
"......"
"And that kind of person acknowledged you."
When Han Ye-seul had kidnapped Jo Yun-a, Kang Min had pondered something but ultimately said nothing.
This was the guy who charged at seniors and big seniors without hesitation if something was off.
What did that mean—
"I think he was convinced you could do it."
"That's......"
That's—
Jo Yun-a blinked blankly.
Impossible.
No way that happened.
After all, she was just lucky.
Plus, Kang Min was close to Seo Bom. No way he'd notice someone like her.
And besides—
"Do I really have to be there? The alien's the key. There's no need for me specifically......"
"Sigh."
Han Ye-seul sighed again at the stammering actress.
Having already pierced(?) Kang Min's intentions, she found the actress before her a bit frustrating.
She decided to kindly interpret Kang Min's true(?) intentions.
"By the way, what do you think the theme of this alien episode is?"
"Theme...?"
"In the lab episode, Actor Kang Min showed humanity's innate goodwill. The Ecuador episode showed innate malice. So what do you think the alien means after that?"
"Uh......"
They seem unrelated...?
Jo Yun-a had perfectly interpreted Kang Min's intent, but as always, there was an interrupter.
Han Ye-seul continued slowly.
"'Goodwill' and 'malice' are usually taken literally."
"Yes......"
"But there's one place where those two terms mean something completely different. Know where?"
"No......"
"Court."
"?!"
Goodwill.
A kind heart with good intentions.
But in legal terms, goodwill means "not knowing the circumstances or facts of a matter."
Malice.
A bad heart intent on harming or hating others.
But in legal terms, malice means "knowing the circumstances or facts of a matter."
Kang Min had already shown goodwill and malice in their fundamental senses to the extreme.
So why bring out an alien next—
"Understanding. Understanding of oneself and others versus lack thereof. Doesn't that ring a bell?"
"......!"
"And Actor Kang insisted the alien absolutely couldn't communicate through language, pushing for that bizarre script."
"No way...!"
Jo Yun-a's eyes widened.
She gasped involuntarily, then blushed in embarrassment.
Because when Kang Min argued the alien should speak in kerangkerang gibberish, she'd thought, just a tiny bit, what weird nonsense is this?
But it was just that her understanding hadn't reached it.
Oppa thought that far ahead...!
Unfortunately, the Kang Min who should say "What bullshit is that, Yun-a...?" wasn't there.
"So now you get why you're needed for this episode."
"I-I think... to embody misunderstanding and understanding. A 'normal' person who judges based on the alien's weirdness or strange speech......"
"Finally! That's exactly it!"
Unfortunately, the Kang Min who should say "What bullshit is that, PD-nim...?" wasn't there.
With the man himself absent, there was no brake.
The planning document filled with Kang Min's pure wishes began to be wildly reinterpreted.
Han Ye-seul, having gained some insight from the King and Sovereign finale, kept explaining, and Jo Yun-a nodded along with a dazed expression.
The final conclusion was even grander.
"Honestly, I think Actor Kang Min prepared this from the start of Unbelievable."
"P-Pardon...?"
It was
some challenge or insight possible only in weekly one-act plays that changed every time.
Han Ye-seul understood that.
And she wanted to help.
It was support for the actor Kang Min, and at the same time, a self-portrait of her childhood dream to become a film director after seeing The Blue Bird.
So,
instead of the actor indifferent to everything but acting, she decided to leak this name to the press.
"Kang Min's Human Quartet."
"Ah...!"
"The four weeks of Unbelievable will be called that after this episode airs."
Jo Yun-a covered her mouth in awe, while the Kang Min who should scream "Don't bullshit me, PD-nim!" was still absent.
By filming day, it was already too late.
"...Oppa."
"Hm?"
"Thank you for believing in me. I'll really give it my all."
"?"
"Really, really try my best."
"......?"
Kang Min stared at the hamster-faced determination and thought:
What the—?
The world is never fair to anyone, always full of impossibilities.
#
"Ugh..."
Around the same time,
the Korean general manager of the global fashion brand Ray Goldmary was clutching his head.
Photos and profiles of countless idols, actors, and models littered his desk. All top picks sent by agencies eager for brand ambassadorships.
Yet he just sighed deeply, ignoring the stars.
His subordinate glanced nervously.
"Upper management rejected it again?"
"Yeah."
"...B-But this batch was top-tier, right? Even Seo Bom has the least experience—"
"Experience my ass. They said the 'vibe' isn't there. The 'vibe'."
He scratched his head furiously.
He'd spent days selecting those who could somewhat pull off insane props like angel wings and devil tails, then narrowed it further to fit the brand image.
But a week's effort was rejected in 30 minutes.
No vibe, apparently.
The general manager felt like he was going insane.
If they said what was lacking or good, I could narrow it down, but what the hell am I supposed to do with that...!
But he couldn't push back.
It was one of the most innovative designers since Yves Saint Laurent. If she didn't feel the vibe, that was that.
Sigh.
This sucks.
Dammit—
As the general manager vented with curses like always and prepared to treasure-hunt through the profile mountain again,
his phone rang.
Seeing the number, he gloomily picked up, expecting more grief.
"Yes, I've received your call."
"Yes. Yes..."
"Pardon?"
The manager blinked.
After repeating "Yes, yes" like a wooden doll, he set the receiver down with a ghostly expression.
His subordinate asked cautiously.
"What'd they say? Told us to scrap it?"
"...She's coming."
"Coming?"
"Here."
"Who?"
"Our CEO."
"......Pardon?"
Not sure, but there's someone we should look out for—
Marie-Joseph Luarecoline Ray's visit to Korea was, as always, curt and sudden.
The Final Effort (5) End