The Gambler's Roar Shakes the Ratings
SBC headquarters, nearby BBQ joint. The production crew had rented out the entire place, gathering the cast including Han Joo-hyuk, the noir quartet, and mid-tier actors from Monster City. Thirty minutes before the premiere aired. Until the broadcasting station staff joined them from the main control room prepping for ratings checks, they'd watch the Monster City debut together on the massive screen set up here.
So this was the premiere celebration party━━but the faces that had been flushed with excitement just moments ago now wore unmistakable looks of tension.
They'd shot so diligently, but the thought of those results being laid bare to the entire nation against Italian Romance made it impossible not to feel a thing.
For premieres, they could huddle in a conference room near the main control or get real-time ratings feeds in the break room... but no one wanted that.
"Joo-hyuk, you okay?"
"Yeah, whatever."
"Must be heavy as the lead."
"Not really."
"...Hey. That's kimchi."
Even Han Joo-hyuk was dipping kimchi in ssamjang instead of pork belly, a sign of how tense things were.
And the one calmly picking at the meat? Only Tae-gyu.
"You... how do you just eat like that?"
"This pork belly's pretty good this time."
The mid-tier actor stuck out his tongue in amazement. Even he, with his minor role, was so on edge that any thought of asking about that "weird vibe at the press conference" had flown out the window.
No. With everyone's minds locked on the imminent Monster City airing, here was Lee Tae-gyu silently devouring pork belly all by himself.
Hmm.
Truth be told, drama aside, he was pondering his next role.
Next role...
Tae-gyu knew it well: the dokkaebi fires he held varied wildly in duration and intensity.
Whoosh!
Some, like the cult elder's, smoldered deep and rooted, needing forcible removal midway. Others, like a wild tiger's, exploded short and fierce, then vanished.
In this spot, he was mulling it over. What if he copied a dokkaebi fire that lingered subtly like the elder's without the sticky unease—something refreshing and purely pleasant?
Yeah. Can't predict when negative emotions might creep back in faint traces.
Just recently, that rare pang of regret without any dokkaebi fire—a "real" emotion beyond his control. To prep for its return, stocking positive ones seemed smart, he figured.
"It's on!"
"Oh."
"Let's go!"
And with that, Monster City officially premiered.
Meanwhile, as Italian Romance aired.
MBS main control room. Amid blinking screens, beaming staff bowed to Go Seon-hyeong.
"Great work, Writer-nim!"
"Congrats!"
"As expected from you! Incredible, seriously!"
Celebrations as if Italian Romance's victory was sealed already.
"...Pfft, what. It ain't over yet."
Go Seon-hyeong mouthed empty words, smirking inwardly.
Honestly, she thought it was done too. Just like the MBS main PD with his ear-to-ear grin said.
"Haha, sizes are out already—what're you talking about, Writer-nim!"
"Stay cool, PD-nim."
"Even against KBC or SBC, we're the only ones hitting double digits! Thirty minutes in, and this? Game over, right?"
As the spittle-flying main PD crowed.
Thirty minutes had passed. And Italian Romance's real-time ratings stood at:
Frankly, Go Seon-hyeong had felt a twinge at the first ratings thirty minutes back. But even top groundwave weekend dramas rarely topped 10% on premiere— that consoled her.
More than that, seeing Monster City's desperate flailing still under 10% made them look pathetic and laughable, lifting her mood nicely.
"Whoa, those Monster City clowns made such a fuss, had me worried... but our star writer's proven brand power wins out, huh?"
"Pfft, PD-nim, you're hyping me too much."
"Not hype—it's fact!"
"Gonna hit the bathroom quick."
"Sure, go ahead! I'll hold the fort!"
She slapped the saluting, chuckling main PD's shoulder and exited the control room.
Click.
Door shut, she dialed someone.
"Hey, Kyung-ho."
Ji Kyung-ho. Probably prepping a victory premiere party with the Italian Romance cast at their reserved spot. Go Seon-hyeong spoke to him.
"Let's eat big tonight? Yeah, we won. Might even hit 15% by episode end if we're lucky."
Cheers erupted from the other end.
"Yeah, yeah, pass it to Min-hee and the others."
She grinned, ended the call, then opened messages and hit reply on the unanswered one from before.
Kwak In-ho, the writer. With victory all but sealed, this should shut him up for good.
She scoffed, smirking disdainfully.
After all that bullshit, can't even crack 10%?
Ridiculous. Ratings here counted to three decimals. In this industry, a 1% gap was seismic—and they were already "that far" ahead, without even hitting the highlight yet.
Yes. Go Seon-hyeong had planted a solid hook at episode one's close, barreling into the back half.
A hook—the clincher to reel viewers into episode 2 no matter what.
A kiss scene.
Mid-intense tennis training. The sunbae-hoobae duo sniping from the start tumble onto the court, lips meeting—slomo perfection. Even she felt her long-forgotten romance flutter.
Two beauties flaunting youth in their worlds, now seeing each other as opposites amid grueling foreign training━━cliché, but it always hit.
Early-mid episode was all buildup for that payoff. So she wasn't too bummed by ratings slightly under expectations.
...Once it hits, it'll explode.
She'd telegraph it hard pre-kiss. With Joo Min-hee and Ji Kyung-ho's killer visuals already glowing like gods...
Then.
The kiss builds, impossible to skip episode 2━━
━━BAM!
Returning from the bathroom, Go Seon-hyeong saw the main PD burst through the control room door.
"Writer-nim!"
It blew up.
She eyed his trembling fingertips from excitement, smiling coolly.
"PD-nim, too hyped. Only ups ahead—don't freak per spike—"
"I-it dropped."
Her eyebrow twitched. Misheard?
"Real-time ratings tanked suddenly."
"What."
"Viewers switching chan—"
"So why?!"
She snapped, irritated. Pre-ending, prime hook spot—and drop-off? North Korea missile? Or...
Her mind raced.
"Th-that... probably..."
"Spit it out!"
She snatched his phone. And saw it.
"What the—"
Spreading real-time across drama forums and chats:
SBC main control room. Gathered staff high-fived, roaring cheers.
"There it is!"
"Hell yeah!"
"Boom!"
It exploded at last. Two months of Korea's explosive hype around that rookie actor finally detonating.
Lee Tae-gyu━━forty-one minutes into Monster City, debuting officially and spiking ratings on entrance alone. Behold the scorching gambler!
"9 PM news gambler's on—think they'd stay put?"
"Agreed."
"Start wasn't bad anyway."
"Promotion worked, willing or not."
Ji Cheol-geun PD's words drew a pleased nod from Nam Division Chief.
Indeed. Early ratings were solid, beating worries.
In this OTT-competitive era, near-10% was a "stellar start."
8.48%... 8.51%... 8.45%... Ups and downs had hearts yo-yoing for forty minutes.
Now, episode one's buildup-heavy pace injected Lee Tae-gyu the hot topic—and ratings rebounded.
The minute it topped 9%, cheers erupted. Amid them, Nam Division Chief and Ji Cheol-geun exchanged quiet nods.
Yes. Slotting in Tae-gyu worked.
Heh heh heh━━as they turned back to the graph.
"Huh?"
"Huh."
"Huh?!"
"Wha—?!"
Smiles faded...
Exact same moment.
BBQ joint near SBC.
Awaiting control room crew, cast watched Monster City on the big screen.
"Dude, you're a total psycho."
"Born gambler."
"That's innate."
"Look at those eyes."
Words half-praise, half-what.
"...Thanks."
Praiser and praidee alike glued to the screen, jaws slack.
Aigoo.
Tae-gyu felt odd.
Why that face, sir?
Watching himself in drama felt weird. Unlike the leaked teaser.
Grilling it solves everything, as I said.
Every gesture blocking the bag-toting hero in detail—complex, faint emotions stirred. Tingly gut, warm head: embarrassment and pride faintly coexisting.
Eek!
Hand it o━━!
Thus. Oh Dae-bak, mad shriek chasing Kang-hyuk, suddenly smashed by a leaping Rolls-Royce.
━━━BAM!
Cut to the gang boss in the car, Monster City episode 1 ended.
Whew.
Everyone exhaled held breaths. Sweaty palms all around.
"Insane."
"Better than shooting?"
"Story immersion hits different."
"Totally."
Immersed in Han Joo-hyuk's 'Kang-hyuk', Tae-gyu's 'Oh Dae-bak' debut brought real madman-chase thrill, tension to the chin.
Oho.
Tae-gyu too. His own acting, fueled by dokkaebi fire, felt way more vivid than expected—even he found his image menacing.
Bang!
Someone kicked the door open. Ji Cheol-geun PD.
"Ah, PD-nim!"
"Right! Ratings!"
"Drama sucked us in, forgot to ask..."
All plugged ears instantly.
His flushed face unleashed a roar-like whoop.
A battle cry━━!
Silence crashed.
Drawing all eyes, he blurted a number.
"...13.5%!"
Some actors' faces lit up, grasping it quick.
"Oh, that's—"
"...Italian Romance's peak minute."
"?!"
"Ours?"
Ji Cheol-geun suddenly eyed Lee Tae-gyu.
Locking gazes, he cackled maniacally.
Then.
Chest heaving with inhaled breath.
Thirteen point eiiiight percent━━━!
Primal victory roar exploded.
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
"...!"
Actors shot up.
Just the waves of staff pouring in behind him said it all.
"Kuhahaha!"
"Boss lady━!"
"Where's our 9 PM news gambler savior!"
"You saved us━!"
"Aah—granting us salvation like this—!"
"Booze out! Driiiinks━!"
"Shots dooown━!"
"Eat till we drop today!"
At least in episode 1 peak ratings battle.
"...We won!"
Monster City had triumphed.