Sincerity Gets Through (5)
Fundamentally, the story of Must Die to Live hadn't changed at all.
The male and female leads died eight times in just the first episode, and twice that in the second.
The "Kwaaaagh!" and "Kyaaaagh!" screams were still there.
But after the second episode aired, the public's reaction had done a complete 180.
'??? What the hell?'
And Han Ye-seul was the model producer.
Meaning she believed that what mattered most wasn't flashy direction or brilliant acting, but the core theme of the drama and what it aimed to convey.
Successful directors around the world said the same, and those teaching aspiring ones echoed it. A drama without a solid backbone never succeeds.
Or, put another way...
The model producer Han Ye-seul couldn't wrap her head around the current situation at all.
'?????'
She rubbed her eyes over and over, but reality didn't budge.
'This is working? Seriously?'
For real?
Just "Kweeeek" sounds?
With some action scenes, CG, and direction slapped on top?
That's enough to make it work?
'No, no... Well, the public can be like that. Some people are satisfied just with eye candy.'
Han Ye-seul tried to rationalize it.
Like those blockbuster movies that just barrel along nonstop and rake in cash—though sure, their stories were probably ten times better than Must Die to Live's—she figured mindless spectacle could pull ratings sometimes.
She patched up her cognitive dissonance that way.
But things didn't stop there.
For some reason, even the snobby critics were starting to chime in on this bizarre drama, one by one.
Of course, rating a drama—especially one that hadn't even ended—was unprecedented. But it was largely due to Lloyd Gonzalez's influence from overseas.
After his glowing review, foreign critics piled on one after another, and domestic ones couldn't just sit idle—they joined in, half-grudgingly.
Unofficial, naturally, which only fueled the fierce debates.
Of course, Kang Min had just wanted to die on screen, nothing more.
But dismissing it like that was impossible—his action scenes were too phenomenal, his death scenes too gut-wrenching, and the backgrounds crafted by everyone he'd pulled in were too flawless.
The critics bickered over who was right, netizens picked sides, and with every debate, the ratings climbed.
'???????'
And now, Han Ye-seul was starting to feel cognitive dissonance creep in.
'Maybe... I was wrong?'
Was screaming "Kwaaaagh!" and "Kweeeek!" every episode actually genius?
Did that make Yoo Ji-min, who seemed totally unhinged, some once-in-a-century talent?
Then maybe even Kebab Guy had seen it coming with his attitude...
'No!'
That much she couldn't accept. Han Ye-seul desperately clung to her sanity.
But this time, it wasn't easy.
'Still, though...'
'It's a fact that ratings peaked when Kang Min died his most brutally, right...?'
'As a PD, shouldn't you give the audience what they love?'
As stuntman Kim Ho-jin and lead actress Yoo Ji-yu grew paler by the day, even Han Ye-seul—the last bastion—was inching toward enlightenment(?).
Maybe struggling alone like in Black Forest got you nowhere?
Special circumstances called for special measures—didn't an actor like Kang Min deserve his own approach?
So maybe, just a little more dying...
"Nooo!!!"
Han Ye-seul finally screamed and started banging her head against the wall.
Lich King-level corruption needed justification, and the reason Han Ye-seul had nurtured for over a decade was rock-solid. Even Mephistopheles would flee barefoot from such an ironclad mind—it wouldn't yield easily.
But hey, that's when some catalyst always shows up. It's tradition since Adam and Eve.
One day, a call came.
"Uh, so... the vice president wants to meet me?"
- Yeah!
"Uh..."
- Problem?
"No, not really, but..."
Kim Kang-hyun, Drama Division Chief, and the MBS Vice President.
The top brass at the station wanted to see Han Ye-seul.
#
'...What's this about?'
Honestly, she'd been dodging Drama Chief Kim Kang-hyun lately.
Not just the shady contract(?), but his thinning hair was getting worse, and even tough-as-nails Han Ye-seul felt a twinge of guilt.
'Screw it! Whatever, I'll go!'
But right now, she felt invincible.
Her brain was still wrestling with the results, but a PD who'd launched a drama into the high 20% ratings from episode one had nothing to fear.
Han Ye-seul strode to the vice president's office with the confidence of a kid heading home after acing med school entrance exams.
The faint tension didn't matter.
"So you're PD Han Ye-seul! Saw you once before, but didn't know you were this talented, haha!"
"I told you, sir. With PD Han around, no worries at all, uhahaha!"
"Right you did, uhahaha!"
"Of course, uhahaha!"
'?'
Yeah. No tension in sight.
Just suspicion.
Deep suspicion.
For starters, Chief Kim Kang-hyun—who yelled his lungs out daily—was grinning like Tom negotiating with Jerry.
Han Ye-seul eyed the chuckling higher-ups with maximum wariness.
"Those KBC clowns have no eye for talent! How'd they miss someone like this?!"
"Ugh, exactly! Ever since President An Gi-sik left, they've been a mess!"
"Ahem, anyway, PD Han, got a question..."
As expected, once the mood was ripe, they cut to the chase.
Han Ye-seul stayed on guard.
"Yes, go ahead."
"That thing Kang Min mentioned. Making his own show."
"Pardon? Oh, right. Yeah..."
"Don't you think that's a bit much?"
"?"
It was so far from what she'd expected that Han Ye-seul blinked.
Makes sense—she'd joined late as an outsider and only vaguely heard about MBS's Unbelievable nightmares: 'Amazing actor vs. utterly clueless broadcaster' Part 1, the Broadcasting Ethics Committee's 10-minute snap warning, the Jo Yun-a scandals everywhere.
But the two brass were desperate.
Desperate.
'We can't hand that madman the Sword of Execution again...!'
'Damn it all! No more board meetings...!'
But officially rejecting a proposal from someone with Kang Min's clout would cause its own headaches. Better to smooth it over behind the scenes.
Han Ye-seul was perfect for the job—their interests aligned perfectly.
'...?'
But hey,
Every problem in the world starts from a misunderstanding of good intentions expressed poorly.
This was no different.
—Their wording sucked.
"Not that we hate the kid or anything. But..."
"The VP means, like with Unbelievable, there's no one up to backing Kang Min. Starting with the PD."
"Mm."
'Huh?'
"Exactly! You know from the Human Quartet, but matching that actor weekly ain't easy. We don't have the staff at MBS to support it."
"Just like the Chief says!"
'...Huh?'
"So, wouldn't Kang Min be better off with something bigger than petty stuff? Our Chaebol Hunter in planning—500 billion budget, proven staff all the way."
"Hoping you could help persuade him, PD Han..."
'Huh???'
Hearing that made Han Ye-seul finally understand the phrase "head goes white with rage."
Her jaw trembled.
Her limbs shook.
No PD to support Kang Min, so no slot? Even with me here?
I'm not good enough? That's what you're saying?
Me, hearing this from nobodies—not even a Kim Cheol or Lee Hyun-seok or Choi Bong-man?
'Kuh...!'
Han Ye-seul ground her teeth.
The barriers to her enlightenment—reason, common sense, miscellaneous bullshit—began crumbling.
All that remained was pride and grit.
Fine. If that's how you want it, she'd show them direction tailored perfectly to Kang Min.
"...Got it."
"Oho, you get it?!"
"If you're saying that much, I'll prove I can do it. We'll talk after."
"?"
"...?"
Han Ye-seul left the baffled higher-ups—with their "Huh?" and "That's not—" faces—managing bare-minimum courtesy.
Her eyes burned with venomous ferocity as she ground her teeth.
The plaintive echoes of "PD Han, where you going?!" faded behind her. Not her problem.
She headed straight for the set, naturally.
Yoo Ji-yu, cowed but brightening at the arrival of her last ally, spoke up.
"Ye-seul unni! Glad you're here! The CG jump-down feels off—they're talking about cutting the scene..."
"Why cut it?"
"...Pardon?"
But it was a rotten lifeline.
Han Ye-seul asked coldly.
"Just do a bungee jump. Rig a camera below, high-angle one, drone too."
"......."
"Any reason you can't?"
"...N-no."
"Then do it."
"......."
Yoo Ji-yu's face went ashen.
Kim Ho-jin's too.
Han Ye-seul was feral now, her lukewarm days gone.
"Not like that! Die properly, Actor Kim Ho-jin!"
"Y-yes...!"
"Your eyes are losing focus! Channel your last dregs of strength into that groan! Desperately! Can't do it?!"
"I-I'll do it..."
"Then do it!"
"Yes, sir!"
No one dared even fart.
The shoot bordered on reign of terror—even VFX director Shim Yu-hyeon just watched nervously, silent.
One exception.
"My god...!"
"K-Kang actor? You know why PD Han's like this?"
"No, it's perfect! Maybe even more perfect than my own eyes see! PD Han's finally surpassed me!"
"......."
As Kang Min gushed in awe, the duo's last hope crumbled—they burst into tears.
And at that very moment,
in Burbank, California, USA, an unexpected meeting between unexpected figures was unfolding.
#
"Let me guess what you're thinking, Madame President. Kang Min keeps sticking in your mind, right?"
"Mm."
Unexpected Figure One: the head of global brand Ray Goldmary let out a small groan.
Across from her, grinning shamelessly, was Unexpected Figure Two: Director Lloyd Gonzalez.
They'd never normally cross paths, and Marie-Joseph Luarecoline Ray—who'd dropped by on business—had tried shooing away the uninvited Lloyd.
But the content... she couldn't ignore it.
'Kang Min. What a remarkable actor...'
The designer sighed softly.
If the shock from Unbelievable was mere talent, meeting him had revealed fierce will, pure purpose, unshakeable conviction in everything.
She'd visited Korea and failed to sign him, thinking it best at the time.
But now... she was regretting it a bit.
'Designers hate models overflowing with aura and strong personalities. The person overshadows the clothes.'
'But that young man... he makes even the clothes he's wearing explode with intensity.'
'If possible, I'd love to capture that vibe...'
Like how an angel's wings draw the eye as much as the angel itself.
Regrettable, but inevitable. He didn't want it.
Marie Ray clicked her tongue, frowning.
"Even so, what changes? He turned down my ambassador offer."
The director smiled slyly.
"I see it differently. Kang just recommended someone more fitting for the spot."
"What's different? He still doesn't want—"
"Oh, then just offer something he'd want."
"Hm?"
The frowning designer prompted him.
The director opened confidently.
"That actor's an artist. It's not wealth he shuns—it's disinterest. From the Human Quartet to Must Die to Live, even the PSA ad—his direction is crystal clear."
Hey, it was a commonly misunderstood point.
The designer asked.
"So what're you suggesting?"
"To lure someone like that, the hook has to be special."
The director cracked his knuckles with a grin.
"Here's a proposal. As owner of the world's most prestigious brand, how about making a PSA ad that flips the globe upside down?"
"Hm...?"
"Personally, I loved the firefighter one."
"......?"
The birth of a truly global "Kwaaaagh!"