Sincerity Gets Through
The screen fades to black.
A voice filled with resentment and despair echoes out.
[I'll get my revenge...!]
[If there's a next life, I'll kill every last one of you...!!]
The screen slowly reveals a woman writhing miserably on the ground.
Her entire body is limp.
Her arms and legs flail desperately, but they only tremble weakly.
Yet the venom in her eyes refuses to die.
It was the start of a clichéd revenge drama, something she'd shown off even during her audition.
But instead of rolling their eyes, the viewers' eyes sparkled with surprise.
Whether good or bad, Yoo Ji-yu had risen to fame playing those plain, resilient, spirited characters—the classic old-school types.
Seeing her now, eyes blazing with venom in utter misery on screen, it was strangely fresh to the public who had no idea why.
There were some mixed reviews, but the praise outweighed them.
Most were buzzing about Yoo Ji-yu's acting transformation and wondering just how amazing the combo of her once-friendly rival(?) Kang Min and Han Ye-seul would be.
If the story was predictable, then it came down to the characters and direction, right?
—Of course, everyone was jumping to conclusions.
Suddenly, the mood shifts.
The gloomy, despairing background music picks up tempo, morphing into ticking clock sounds.
A heavy cello gives way to electric guitar, and upbeat BGM kicks in.
Then massive subtitles overlay it.
It's never an easy task!
While viewers blink in confusion, the scene cuts to a towering snowy mountain.
Yoo Ji-yu blinks, now bundled in thick mountaineering gear.
Kang Min turns to her with a chuckle.
"Looks like we'll have to jump."
"H-have you lost your mind?"
"I'm perfectly sane. Here's the medical certificate."
"......"
Yoo Ji-yu stares in bewilderment.
The viewers wear similar expressions.
But no one could stop the teaser already rolling.
A woman dreaming of revenge with her powerful ally!
"Aaaargh!!!"
"Kyaaah!!!!"
"Heh, looks like just two of them. Let's sneak in and snag that USB."
"Why are you so obsessed with that guy's USB...?"
"In daily dramas, that's all they chase after, right?"
"......"
"Gaaah!!"
"Ughhh!!"
"Wahhh!"
"Kuhhh!"
"Gurgle?"
"Grrgle?"
"Aaaargh!!!"
"Kyaaah!!!!"
"Kek!"
"Guh!"
"Gurgle."
"Blub blub."
The protagonists' brutal, ruthless struggle unfolds...!
"Hoo."
"No... I hate it now... no more..."
For the next 1 minute and 30 seconds, viewers stared blankly as leads Kang Min and Yoo Ji-yu died in every colorful way imaginable.
Literally. They just kept dying.
With flawless acting,
Under scenes perfectly directed by Shim Yu-hyeon—the brilliant VFX and editing supervisor—and Han Ye-seul.
Everything was too perfect.
...And that's why it made no sense at all.
What is this?
What the hell are we watching—
Such hopes went nowhere.
The 1:30 teaser just ended with screams of "Gaaah!" and "Kyaaah!"
The screen faded to black with the massive Die to Live logo.
"......"
"......"
A long silence followed.
Not just on internet forums, but among everyone watching live.
For example, Choi Ra-hee's family reacted like this.
"Ra-hee?"
"...Yeah."
"What is this?"
"Well......"
For example, the three famous directors.
"Bong-man."
"...Yes."
"What the hell is this?"
"Well......"
And so on.
The reaction of the MBS bald department head—the ultimate culprit behind it all—was no different.
He blinked blankly for a full minute before snapping to and screaming.
"Get Han Ye-seul in hereeeee—!!!!"
#
A day after the Die to Live teaser took over the world,
Actress Yoo Ji-yu was burying her head in the ground.
It's out... that insane teaser actually aired...
Well, Yoo Ji-yu had her excuses.
She'd tried.
At least, as a rational person, she thought she'd tried damn hard.
Over the past six years of drama work, she'd never failed to push her opinions through. That was her survival skill.
But this time was different.
Kang Min was like seven-colored factory waste, polluting everything around him until nothing could touch it...
"Hey, Actor Kang! I think I've got a perfect idea!"
"Ooh, what is it?"
"This cliff fall on the snowy mountain. Instead of CG with the camera closing in, how about a 45-degree angle plunge? Echo the screams fading out. Way more brutal, right?"
"Perfect, Director Shim!"
"Hahaha! That's me!"
The kebab guy was already too far gone.
"Hyung, I think I've got a good idea too!"
"Ooh, what?"
"This drowning scene. Originally, she jumps in to escape whether it works or not and dies pathetically? How about front-loading a more brutal moment..."
"Perfect! Your IQ must be 300!"
"Ehehe."
And who the hell are you?
You wanna see me die that brutally?
Got a crush or something?
"Hmm, seems like this production team loves that stuff..."
"Honestly, I don't get it either."
"But it's Kang Min and Han Ye-seul. They must have a plan, right?"
"Yeah... Should we pitch along those lines? Like getting trampled by a rampaging rhino herd..."
"...For real?"
Even the sensible staff were starting to corrupt.
It started small, but once the rhino idea passed with Kang Min's praise, it snowballed uncontrollably.
In this madhouse, Yoo Ji-yu pinned her hopes on the last sane person.
Han Ye-seul.
A fellow rational soul with the same headaches, and above all, the head of this project.
Yoo Ji-yu went all out to win her over and got somewhat close.
But.
"Unnie! You have to fix this! You're my only hope!"
"Well..."
"Unnie?"
"Ji-yu, it's awkward to say, but Actor Kang isn't usually someone who smiles that brightly."
"...Pardon?"
"He's always frowning, deep in thought. But since filming started, his face has been lighting up. Hard to put into words..."
"......"
"Ahem, and, y'know, a little more brutal drowning isn't so bad...?"
"......"
This rope was rotten too.
Rubbing her hands and hesitating, Han Ye-seul nearly made Yoo Ji-yu lose her mind.
Am I the only one who thinks this madness is weird?! Is debating 'right shoulder stab for blood loss death vs. lung stab for drowning in blood' for an hour a valid agenda for a story direction meeting?!
Was she really the only sane one left?
What pathetic manager had greenlit this drama!
Oh, right. Me.
In the end, no one to blame.
Yoo Ji-yu could only stare blankly at the collective insanity.
Except once,
When this deranged plan nearly derailed.
"Tricky, Actor Kang. This spec-ops battle scene won't be easy to CG."
"Is that so?"
"Technically possible, but it'd look weird. Motion capture isn't for random martial artists. Even then, the difficulty's insane."
"Hmm..."
Yoo Ji-yu felt a glimmer of hope at the kebab guy's troubled face.
The whole Die to Live story was nuts, but the villain CEO hiring ex-spec-ops was the pinnacle. Without that, maybe it'd be salvageable.
And then it shattered.
"Don't worry. I know just the guy."
"Hmm? Actor Kang, this ain't simple. Most guys couldn't even swing a knife convincingly in this flow—"
"Heh, it'll be nothing for him."
"?"
The next day, the guy dragged in with a "Where am I? Who am I?" look was a controversial figure from King and Sovereign.
He'd confessed his crimes, reflected deeply, won public favor, and walked free on prosecutorial discretion. In industry circles, dubbed the "slippery calculator."
Stunt actor Kim Ho-jin.
He looked horrified at Kang Min's pitch but somehow accepted, trembling.
Seemed sane, so Yoo Ji-yu chatted him up.
"Um, Actor Kim Ho-jin?"
"Y-yes...?"
"You don't seem thrilled. Why agree? You could just say no..."
"...There's dinosaurs in the second half."
"Pardon? Oh, yeah, there are."
That was when Yoo Ji-yu started genuinely worrying for her twin brother.
Is he actually an idiot? Or just plain crazy?
Kim Ho-jin's face was dead serious, though.
"Be careful."
"Of what?"
"Actor Kang..."
He glanced around, then whispered gravely.
"That lunatic can emit killing intent like that if he decides to face dinosaurs...!"
"......"
"He even thinks he's William White...! What choice do I have...!!"
"......I see."
One more lunatic joined.
Of course Kang Min's friend wouldn't be normal. With nothing but bullshit, Yoo Ji-yu abandoned all hope in gloom.
The press conference ended, the teaser dropped.
But Yoo Ji-yu's suffering continued.
Kang Min nitpicked her death acting whenever bored, and now his "aesthetic"(?) was spreading.
"Aaaagh!"
"Hmm, not sure, but maybe stretch the 'aah' a bit?"
"Even PD Han thinks so? Me too."
"Me... too..."
"......"
Yoo Ji-yu ground her teeth inwardly.
It was endurance that'd make even King Bucha flee barefoot—like lying on thorns and chewing gall.
"Senior Yoo, you listening?"
"...Yes, of course! The difference between 'Kuek' and 'Kreuk', right? Hehe."
"Slightly off. It's not pronunciation—it's sincerity. With that, even nose-diving into sewage can silence a crowd. I believe it."
"......Th-that's a brilliant idea!"
Fine, play along for now.
Yoo Ji-yu clenched her teeth.
This was Kang Min's solo push. He was unbeatable now, beyond Air Man.
But absolute power demands infinite responsibility.
At his peak from back-to-back homers like King and Sovereign, Unbelievable, PSAs, everyone followed. But mediocre ratings? He'd pay.
That's when she'd show her true colors and seize control.
Hold on... for now...!
The teaser,
Full episode preview—
Watching domestic reactions grow more chaotic by the day, Yoo Ji-yu harbored dark expectations.
No way it'll rate well. Obvious.
Then Kang Min would be done, after grinding her down.
She'd plotted her revenge thoroughly.
Cool.
Beautiful just imagining it.
Yoo Ji-yu, stressed daily, felt like she didn't need side dishes with thoughts like that.
Almost there.
Really soon—
Her ambitions would soon come true.
Domestic reactions were pure chaos, after all.
So, yeah,
—Until the kebab guy came beaming with something.
"Hey, Actor Kang! PD Han! Check this out!"
"What?"
"Our Die to Live trend numbers! They're insane!"
"What?!"
"Huh?"
Not just the kebab guy—even other staff blinked.
It was Yoo Ji-yu—always smiling—who'd yelled in shock.
She realized late and tried fixing her face, but failed.
Yoo Ji-yu stammered.
"J-just recently, you said they were iffy—"
"Not domestic—overseas!"
So you were worried, huh, the kebab guy chuckled heartily.
He said excitedly.
"Unbelievable export countries are all on fire! Never seen trend numbers like this!"
"......Pardon?"
Yoo Ji-yu blinked blankly.
#
And, as always, at the same time in the MBS vice president's office.
The VP was blinking blankly too.
Before him was a subordinate where seeing his face didn't spell disaster anymore—it was the face itself causing it.
"So, MBS is getting flak again?"
"Yes..."
"Overseas again? Because of that teaser?"
"Yes... massive backlash......"
"......"
"......"
"The title's The Amazing Actor and the Utterly Stupid Broadcasting Station 2..."
"Don't say it."
The VP clutched his uncountable head and went silent.
Kim Kang-hyun, the shiny-headed department head, said nothing.
Just endless silence flowed.
"......"
"......"
"......"
"......Goddammit, this time we're actually innocent!!!"
But of course,
Overseas netizens didn't care.