The Flames of Hate
The spark was simple.
Someone had unleashed a barrage of indiscriminate hate comments targeting Gongbeomche and me from out of nowhere.
No one knew exactly who started it.
It could be forces mobilized by Manager Jang, a faction from Kim Ra-un's fandom, or just baseless internet hate.
Less likely, but maybe public broadcast affiliates or rival OTT companies competing with Tvic.
Realistically, it was probably all of them combined.
Online opinion snowballs when everyone chips in a word or two.
But the key was that this excessive aggression rubbed neutral viewers the wrong way.
Haters always summon fans.
Those who checked out Gongbeomche just to hate on it realized their complaints were nonsense.
Taste is subjective; a drama might not click for everyone.
But this was too well-crafted to attack its quality.
Soon, fans who loved it piled on, and chaos erupted.
As the fight escalated, supreme court justices emerged.
Self-appointed judges eager to rule on whose side was right.
"Numerically speaking, they've formed a favorable public opinion for Gongbeomche."
That sounded like an overwhelming victory for Gongbeomche, but it wasn't.
No matter how insane Gongbeomche's retention and viewer density were, Yeongpeoral had 14% ratings.
Meanwhile, Tvic had the lowest subscriber base among OTT platforms in Korea.
Public opinion split 50/50, and the battle intensified.
That ferocity caught journalists' eyes.
"But reporters bickering over which is more fun looks bad, right?"
That's when the "terrestrial TV vs. OTT" framing kicked in.
The front lines expanded.
Some media outlets favored terrestrial TV, others OTT.
"From here, the situation's out of our hands. Nothing we can do."
If it was just "which drama is better," marketing had plenty to work with.
But debating viewing angles? No counterplay.
"Push retention, they'll shove ratings. Push ROI, they'll throw revenue."
"What's your take, Team Leader? Who won?"
"You kidding? We did, obviously."
I agreed.
The capital gap, star power gap, marketing budget gap—they were worlds apart.
But the public didn't care about "ROI per capital" or "viewer share vs. platform size."
Too abstract, not juicy enough.
Plus, we had 8 episodes; they had 16.
Time would naturally tilt toward Yeongpeoral.
"We can afford to lose. A public opinion loss doesn't diminish the CE's achievement."
"Honestly, I thought it'd collapse right after release."
"Is that why?"
"I wanna declare victory so bad it hurts..."
Marketing Team Leader Jeong Sun-young turned to me.
"Got a way?"
I left the marketing team and returned to CL Team 3's office.
With instructions to brainstorm before the afternoon marketing meeting.
As I sat, Senior Joo Young-hoon's glare was terrifying.
Why so salty? Does Gongbeomche's success hurt that much?
Then Chae Seo-hee approached and smacked my arm playfully.
"Hyun-woo, you're killing it again today?"
"Again?"
"Showing up late and acting all bold?"
"Oh!"
Right, I'd gone straight to marketing this morning.
I jumped up to report to the senior, but CE Kang Mu-tae intercepted.
"Do Hyun-woo. You're late?"
"No, sir. Marketing Team Leader called me, so I came straight to the fourth floor."
"You still report it. No hierarchy?"
"...Sorry, sir."
"Not lying? I can check your ID logs?"
"Of course."
He chewed me out for a while longer, but he wasn't a good actor.
I could tell he wasn't serious.
Right-hand man to Senior Joo Young-hoon, but CE Kang Mu-tae was fundamentally decent.
He stepped in to shield me from Joo's wrath.
"Get back to work."
After the scolding, back at my seat, Chae Seo-hee grinned ear-to-ear.
"Happy I got yelled at?"
"Why would I? Something better."
Glancing at Senior Joo, she lowered her voice.
"What'd the marketing team leader say? We're a huge hit, right? Bonuses incoming?"
"Dunno about bonuses, but she wants ideas for a victory declaration."
"Victory? What?"
"I'll explain. We have that 2 PM marketing meeting anyway. Division head's attending."
"Sweet! Praise first, for sure?"
Chae Seo-hee beamed innocently.
Good for her, feeling relieved.
But objectively, she was right.
I wasn't satisfied yet, but this was a massive win.
Who could've predicted Gongbeomche would blow up like this?
"Why ignore KakaoTalk yesterday?"
"Not just yours."
Still over 999 unread messages.
Fun part: half from people who'd hurt me back in my acting days.
Assistant directors who mocked me as I hustled for debuts.
Senior supporting actors tsking if I'd ever make a living.
Prodcos using my hard-submitted profile as scrap paper.
Managers telling Sung Tae-hyung to cut ties with a rotten rope like me.
Nothing important, then.
Chatting with Chae Seo-hee was more worthwhile.
"Why? Something up?"
As I opened my mouth, I suddenly recalled the Gyungsung Bakery opening event.
"I don't have a cat."
"A cat?"
"Yeah. A cat."
Chae Seo-hee tilted her head, then grimaced.
That opening event text? Unforgettable.
Just three letters.
Shocked by real-time reactions, they chugged soju. Next day, vehement denial.
Claimed they never use crude language.
Cat stepped on the keyboard.
"I told you a bunch, but that day..."
"Drank with the Gongbeomche cast and passed out. Didn't even watch the show."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
"Speaking of actors, we sticking to the mystery vibe? Interviews and variety show requests pouring in since morning."
"Why us?"
"Most have no agency. Numbers leaked from us or marketing."
"Hmm..."
Truth was, the mystery strategy wasn't noble.
Just weighed viewer boost from variety appearances vs. marketing value of mystique.
Mystique won.
Not forever—first interview drops Wednesday after next, with episode 5.
By then, the hype should cool.
But...
This situation's bigger than expected.
I thought opinions would fizzle post-release.
Not explode like this.
Send 'em to variety now?
Silence feels weird too.
But rookies messing up on air?
Then a strange sensation brushed my mind.
Noisy world.
Silence.
Gaffes.
The keywords tickled my brain, hinting at an idea.
That's when it hit.
"But sending actors to variety feels risky anyway."
"Why?"
"Obvious. Haters will pounce like on a rat."
"That bad?"
"They don't need reasons. Just hate."
Chae Seo-hee's words pierced me.
Hate?