Others' Gazes (1)
“Aaaah, I’m dying here. Director! Director! Seniiiior!”
“Hm? You call me?”
A skinny guy with messy hair and glasses, who’d been hollering at someone, finally got the big burly man in the corner of the table to look up from whatever he was buried in.
“Agh, senior, I’m dying. Should we order some late-night grub? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, it’s gotten pretty late, hasn’t it? If you guys are hungry, just order something. Will they comp it for the set? If not, tell me and I’ll get it on the app.”
“Aren’t you tired, senior? It’s been days of this crap... Look, the writer’s already passed out over there.”
“That’s why I told you to exercise more normally. It’s ‘cause your stamina sucks.”
The burly guy scolded the skinny one while flexing his arm like he was showing off, biceps bulging proudly.
“Look at this. I work out and take care of myself on the side, and even at my age, I’m spryer than you punks.”
His massive forearm and rippling muscles strained against his shirt. The skinny guy eyed the manly brag with pity before clearing his throat.
“Ahem. I’m good. Have you finished the script, senior? There’s not much to it anyway. We just need to sort the quizzes by category, right? So... could you help me with these lists I’m staring at? My eyes are gonna fall out.”
“Haven’t finished yet. Take it slow. I’ll go through the script first, then we’ll sort the lists together.”
Ignoring his junior’s desperate plea, the big guy turned back to his papers.
“Argh... The section chief’s going too far. Dumping this schedule on us out of nowhere? We were supposed to start production end of Q2, and now this bolt from the blue. And because of some beef between Jeong PD and the agency causing a shutdown, we’re the ones paying for it?”
With his senior focused on his own work, the skinny guy started griping again.
“...What can we do? If the higher-ups say jump, we jump.”
“You’ve mellowed out a lot, senior. Back in the day, you’d have stormed in there a dozen times. Not that it wouldn’t have caused problems.”
“Sigh... Times have changed. The days of strutting around as a network PD are long gone. We should be grateful the show’s even still on air. What can you do?”
The burly man sighed and glanced at the script covers on the table.
Young & Youth Episode 2. PD Gowuseok. Writer Hyeon Min-ha.
Young & Youth had once ridden word-of-mouth buzz among viewers. A show planned meticulously by season and quarter, broadcast year after year. He’d been the main PD steering it for three whole years now—a solid run in this cutthroat world where ratings fluctuated wildly with the times.
They’d hit campuses nationwide, interviewing college kids in relay fashion, quizzing them, handing out prizes. Simple format, but making it buzzworthy took insane research and scripting from the crew.
“Manipulation that doesn’t feel like manipulation”—that was Gowuseok’s motto for variety shows.
The second a script entered the picture, no program escaped the mold of manipulation. Even those nationwide-hit real-variety shows followed scripts to guide them naturally toward the producers’ intent. Surprises and twists happened, sure, but the overall flow never budged—or if it did, editing fixed it. To avoid that entirely, you’d have to ditch variety for documentaries.
So PDs and crew just intervened as naturally as possible, without awkwardness. Broadly “manipulation,” sure—but packaged so viewers never clocked it.
Young & Youth hooked eyes with young college kids spilling hilarious campus episodes or personal family drama. A standout looker could spark buzz just by showing up. And solving tough quizzes highlighted their smarts too.
Of course, the crew pulled strings throughout. Pre-research via student councils pinpointed buzzworthy kids at each school. No advance casting, though—that risked leaks. It was all about engineering real-feeling encounters, with MCs loosening things up via chat.
That’s why they’d roped in famous comedian Yoon Hee-seok, already proven as an MC, to helm it season after season.
But no single MC could carry a near-hour-long show solo, even with assistant MCs syncing up.
In short: everything hinged on the regular folks’ buzz factor.
And off-camera? That’s where the crew shone.
These days, mukbangs and travel ruled, but dating shows’ eternal staple was “that subtle guy-girl tension”—love lines.
They quietly tapped department execs for leads: witty, sharp-tongued, or hot kids. With daily-life pics. And any deets on crushes or relationships.
From there, the show’s direction locked in. Famous MC crashes in for interviews; unfiltered stories pour out; the dam breaks. Guy-girl issues flow like water. Public love confessions emerge naturally. Crush or official couple? Didn’t matter. Chase the target for surprise interviews, bridge the connections. Love’s matchmaker stick.
Quiz prizes? Couple-friendly stuff—duo trip vouchers, matching tees—to bait those cringey, heart-fluttering lines. Editing made it magic.
Natural love lines formed, spotlighted, buzz ignited. Hot guys and girls? Jackpot.
Any buzz, and the show soared. In a shorts and one-man-media world, regular-folk hype could explode uncontrollably once lit.
So Young & Youth vetted regulars strictly. First criterion: looks.
Strictly speaking, it wasn’t a “safe low-floor” show. No idol fanbases to carry it. Fun rose or fell on randos’ faces and gab. Ratings tanked hard if they flopped.
But a regular sparking hype? Skyrockets.
Idols were already meme’d and shorts-saturated. Today’s era thirsted for unearthed gems.
Untapped potential. Endless uses.
Gowuseok’s network ran tons of variety: real-dating observation shows, brainy survival battles.
Dig up a smart, stunning gem? Ripple effects to other shows.
No rule forcing crossovers post-appearance, but expanding ties? All on the PD’s savvy.
Thus, Young & Youth wasn’t “low-floor defense”—it was “low-floor buyout.” Unearth gems, offer multi-show shots, snag ‘em cheap.
Season 1: a beauty mobbed by frat-bro love-bombs blew up. Landed her a network group-dating show next, massive hit.
Sin Nara. Season 1’s star. Now fixed-panel regular, memes galore, compared to celebs. Textbook Young & Youth success.
At the center: sharp-eyed main PD Gowuseok.
“Hmm. Yoon Hee-seok’ll handle the script fine. Just sort quizzes by major later... Alright, let’s scan some faces.”
“Finally. Thought my eyes’d pop. Here—Baekun University, episode 1.”
“Saw Baekun. No real standouts. Might as well street-cast and pray for a lotto hit.”
“Why? Plenty of cuties. Picked ‘em to hook viewers episode 1, right?”
“Fuck. You think I wanted that? Section chief kept blowing wind about Baekun’s hotties—had to slot ‘em. Been yapping since main-project days; won’t quit.”
“Sigh. What ya gonna do? Can’t pull now. They’ve greenlit filming; they’re dying for promo too.”
“What choice do I have? Pray editing saves it?”
“Still, some solid looks. Like Yoon Se-hee—total hook potential. Heard guys are in a love triangle over her. Writer said Sin Nara-level no, but tabloid-fodder for sure.”
“Cheap thrills. Makeup or natural? Pics scream tacky. Baekun ain’t top-tier—why do these types rule? And we’re not drama-stirring; pushing that risks backlash. Cut at safe line. We film and bounce, but fallout on kids? Don’t wanna hear ‘devil editing’ again.”
“Shit, then we’re doomed. Shooting next week? And episode 2’s Korea University. Too high-value. Bookworms galore—no real expectations.”
“Drop the bias, punk. Gimme the Korea U list.”
“Here. Was just starting. Wanna peek together?”
“What? Still haven’t looked? You’ve been all-in on episode 1?”
“No—you said scout departments, building layouts for no delays. ID support folks per major. Sort lists by field, prep quiz questions. Think I just skimmed faces?”
“Ugh...”
No guarantee fame baited mics into instant yeses. Class schedules could snag planned interviews. Support from departments helped, but pre-checks minimized time sinks.
Sure, random grabs as fillers, but jackpots from them? Rare. Overzealous show-offs popped up, but this wasn’t comedy auditions—they were props.
“Let’s check.”
Too awkward to grill his junior more, Gowuseok flipped the “Korea University Student List” papers.
“Hmm... Solid, solid.”
“No sparks? Your eagle eye still kicking, right?”
“Focus if you wanna live. Baekun ends, straight to Korea U. Squeeze other schools between. Secure four episodes before air. Got time to slack?”
“Aigoo, I’m dead, I’m dead.”
Looks first always, so they sped through sheets.
“Hmm... This one’s pretty decent?”
“Yeah. Korea U’s got quality... Huh? What’s this? Check it, senior.”
“What now?”
The junior thrust a page at him.
“Name ‘Lee Hyun.’ Single syllable. Korea U freshman this semester. Education department. Young and fresh, but...”
“Whoa! What’s with her?”
A photo that lit Gowuseok’s eyes: hair neatly back, revealing a slim, stunning face. Among entry pics (name, major public; personal info redacted), she stabbed out like a spike. Stoic expression, but it couldn’t hide the beauty.
Gowuseok stared, eyes wide. Privacy laws limited pics to standard department shots—no heavy edits possible. Even raw, her look screamed extraordinary.
He’d seen celebs galore; unpolished stunners like this were rare.
He checked evals right away.
- Top education-dept beauty in a decade.
- Guys hitting on her hard; she’s uninterested.
- Senior-junior alike, popularity exploding.
“...Comments straight fire. Korea U kids wrote this?”
“Eval from department head. Might help with shoot logistics too.”
“Okay, keep her. Contact him, prioritize her circle. Nail class schedules.”
“Yes. Strong start.”
“Wonder how far this opener goes...”
But soon, another gem surfaced.
“Huh? Senior, this one—Food & Nutrition.”
“Hm? Oh? She’s solid too.”
“Yeah, Yoon Yesul. Class of ‘21. Has a boyfriend—not same major, but campus couple since freshman year. Waited through his service. Good?”
“Need real-life check, but pics hit hard. Lee Hyun too—exceeding expectations all around?”
“Right? Smart and pretty? Buzz city... Whoa, jackpot? Slot her?”
“Duh. BF on the list?”
“Uh... Lemme check. Or start with Yesul, trace to him—messenger role. Solid dynamic. Squeeze free periods for classes; patchwork edit’s easy.”
“Okay. Keep this one too.”
Unexpected haul energized them. Work flowed once momentum hit.
Smooth sailing so far.
“Huh? Huh-huh?”
“What? Another hit?”
“Senior, look.”
“Alright, lemme see.”
Junior handed a group shot from department orientation sports day; one girl peeked out amid the crowd.
“Whoa? Features on point... Wait, total idol material?”
“Right? Min Yu-ri. Economics. Damn. Major, face—pure controversy bait.”
“Real-life pending... But context pics say it all.”
“Exactly. Stands alone? Nah, neck-and-neck with Lee Hyun.”
“Yesul’s no slouch, but these two’ll dominate post-air talk. Jackpot. What’s Korea U hiding? Applied back then, bombed—but if it was this caliber, I’d have restudied my ass off.”
“Jeong PD’s Korea U alum, right? Beg him for a guide. Leverage that ancient senior pull for smooth talk. He owes us for this mess.”
“Bullshit. Don’t beg—grabs our ankles. Who shoots serving the boss?”
“Pfft-haha.”
Ignoring the junior’s cheeky laugh, Gowuseok refocused. Striking features, slim face. Tiny compared to group, porcelain skin—he’d skimmed it before, but now it nagged familiar. Not just looks: contours, body line, hair, skin... Déjà vu.
Where’ve I seen her?
Junior eyed his staring senior quizzically.
“What? Something off? If your eagle eye’s twitching, I’m spooked...”
“Nah... She a regular? Not some trainee or actress wannabe?”
“Huh? Familiar?”
“Yeah... Like I’ve seen her. Check evals.”
“One sec.”
Rustling, then a paper shoved over.
- Over a year of guys confessing.
- JH Ent scouted her on campus; declined.
- Single. Barely any girl friends. Confirmed.
“...JH Ent?”
“Oh... Real-life killer? They don’t scout off test shots alone. Windfall.”
“Sigh...”
Junior grinned; Gowuseok felt unease linger.
No direct link then... But JH-level looks? I’d remember forever.
He scowled, pondering—no dice.
Agh... Gowuseok, sharpest eye in GBS history. Fading fast.
Overthinking sapped him. He recalled: dinner to now, three-plus hours glued in the meeting room, same pose.
“Hup! Can’t hack it. Gotta stretch.”
“Sigh, gym again?”
“Wasted if unused. I’m just company policy-compliant.”
“Who’d peg you for a PD? Gym owner at best. Add tats, you’re some street brawler.”
“Not building for show. This gig? Stamina dips kill ya. First day here, I was your size. Now look—way older, but outlasting you.”
“Sure, sure. Muscles and age. Living the dream.”
“Fuckin’ punk. Anyway, grabbing food. Back to guys after.”
Gowuseok waved dismissively, door slamming. Junior smirked bitterly at his back, sorting the table’s paper chaos.
“Goddamn musclehead. Least tidy up before bouncing. Lately, he’s steroid-pumping his brain or some shit.”
But his grumbles didn’t reach the senior.