33
Chapter 33 The Winner of the Casting War
All the broadcasting staff focused on Do Minho’s lips.
The same went for the first-grade students of Sangnok Elementary.
They had spent a lot of time with him and talked with him often, but they had only scratched the surface. They had never
truly looked into what he wanted.
“There are a lot.”
“Like what?”
“I want to learn soccer, basketball, boxing, judo, wrestling… pretty much everything.”
‘I thought he was just a bookish kid, but he’s more into sports than expected?’
Jo Hyoseon and the other staff all reacted with surprise, leaning in with interest.
The kids were the same.
“I have a soccer ball at home!”
“Oh really?”
“Should I bring it to the orphanage?”
“Sure.”
After the tteokbokki party, Happiness Orphanage had basically become the official hangout for Class 1-4.
Many kids now spent hours there after school before going home in Director Lee’s car.
“So you liked sports too.”
“Yes. But not enough to go on TV.”
‘That makes sense.’
The staff, who had been briefly excited, nodded in agreement.
“Then what do you like that *is* suitable for broadcast?”
“Hmm… I don’t know. Would it be okay if an eight-year-old cooks with a knife on TV?”
“I heard you’re good at cooking.”
“I think it’d be nice to properly learn from a professional chef.”
For major networks aiming for massive hits, a cooking show wasn’t very appealing.
Cooking programs usually hovered around modest ratings and weren’t considered big successes.
And most viewers were housewives—unlikely to be interested in a child learning to cook.
‘And beef brisket in tteokbokki… that’s hardly standard cooking.’
Still—
“Thanks. That gives me a framework.”
For a small local station like FBS, even a 10% rating would be huge.
---
“Minho, are you really going to do a cooking show?”
The kids crowded around him like managers.
“Maybe.”
“Then you’ll have to keep going to Seoul?”
“Not necessarily. If it’s a cooking show, they could film here.”
“Ah!”
“I don’t like long car rides. Spending eight hours traveling every week is too much.”
That was one of many reasons he hadn’t chosen a program yet.
No appealing proposals.
No guaranteed success.
No clear benefit for advertising.
And too much travel time.
Only one program met his standards so far—The Genius Bucket List.
“Big shows like Korea’s Top 1% make sense in Seoul. But if possible, I want to film here.”
The “Top 1%” show had won him over with its bold proposal, high spending, and strong ratings.
Cooking shows, meanwhile, had strong potential for product placements.
If successful, they could turn him into a CF star.
The only issue was that only FBS seemed interested in that direction.
But that wasn’t a real problem.
Cooking could be the starting point.
The ending could be something much bigger.
“Why hasn’t Happy House contacted us?”
“They’re busy building something better.”
“Huh?”
“Just trust me.”
‘I can build it myself if I do well on the CSAT.’
---
“So you really got him?”
PD Park Hotae joined Kang Jiseop at the station.
“Told you I would.”
“How did you do it? Others spent six million just to get him as a guest.”
“Luck.”
“Luck? You set up a buffet at the orphanage!”
“Like we were the only ones?”
“But you’re building him a house too?”
“Use your budget sometimes.”
They argued casually.
Meanwhile, another PD joined.
“Can you get Minho for our show too?”
“He’s not easy. He spent six million in 30 minutes at a mart.”
“Still, we can pay well.”
“He’s worth it.”
Even a children’s drama PD spoke up.
“I want him as a lead actor.”
“What?”
“He’s perfect for it.”
“Honestly… every word he says feels like a script.”
“That’s true.”
“He might even debut in literature someday.”
“Really?”
“He already thinks like a writer.”
Minho’s influence kept growing.
“But will he even accept?”
“He’s hard to read.”
“He’s ambitious but also detached.”
“Exactly.”
“And he doesn’t want to come to Seoul much.”
“That’s tough.”
“But interesting.”
“Very.”
“Anyway, I’ll mention your drama idea.”
“Thank you!”
Kang Jiseop smiled faintly.
‘He’s not someone you can control.’
And that was exactly why—
Everyone wanted him.