The Gambler's Lasting Echo
The next morning at 11 a.m. Crash! A middle-aged woman hurled her whiskey glass against the far marble wall, unable to contain her rage as she tore at her disheveled hair and let out a guttural scream.
"...That bitch! Argh!"
Heavy booze breath poured from her heaving mouth. It was Go Seon-hyeong, the top romance writer.
Now that the first clash between MBS and SBC's weekend dramas was over, Italian Romance had won in average ratings per episode. But that victory was a given, so it hardly mattered.
Except...
"...Stealing someone else's finale with that cheap trick?"
Monster City's peak ratings, just 0.3% higher than hers, had scraped at her pride.
She knew it too. Peak ratings meant little compared to averages. From the broadcasters' perspective, who sold ads, negotiations hinged on per-minute averages anyway.
But Go Seon-hyeong was a star writer unused to losing what was hers—she took, she didn't get taken from. The suspicion that Monster City's finale had snatched viewers from Italian Romance had left a deep gash in her ego.
And above all, drama writers were as sensitive to attention as actors. Click. Her hands trembled as she reopened her laptop—every bit of the world's focus pouring toward them right now grated on her nerves.
Not just drama forums—every SNS was erupting like fountains with posts about the rookie actor from Monster City's finale yesterday.
Go Seon-hyeong's rom-com queen comeback? That issue was a teacup tempest compared to the "9 p.m. news gambler from Monster City."
The noise wasn't just online.
In group chats with friends, someone had screenshot a Monster City scene and it was circulating mischievously.
"We can just win it back, right, teacher~?"
"What?"
"Didn't you watch Monster City yesterday?"
"Oh, that teaser clip going around?"
"Dude. Watch it. Teaser was nothing. There's a total psycho at the end."
In restaurants.
"Dear colleague, can you spot me 200,000 won?"
"Piss off, you're gonna blow it on toto again."
"We can just win it back, Park Team Lead~"
"You psycho, keep that up and you'll end up a real gambling addict like that guy."
"You know this?"
"Saw the gambler and thought of you. No joke, be careful or you'll turn into him."
"...Nah, I'm nowhere near that bad."
At offices. And everywhere—workplaces, schools, public transit.
[Lee Tae-gyu]
This rookie's acting was spreading even to mouths of drama indifferents.
The reaction dwarfed the teaser leak—simple industry math at work.
[Immersion × Exposure × Impact = Imprint]
Monster City viewers immersed in the protagonist, an ordinary salaryman for the first 40 minutes. Deep in his plight, needing to grab the money bag from the loan shark office.
- "We, we can just win it back, right, teacher~?"
Much longer than the teaser, up close like face-to-face: the gambler's raw madness.
Modern folks rarely see truly unhinged people up close. Let alone one flipping out when their reverse scale's touched.
And here was an actor nailing exactly "that's how a real gambling psycho would act"—100% authentic.
Bam! With a shockingly perfect exit to boot.
Twelve hours post-premiere. As viewers pondered how to articulate Monster City with Lee Tae-gyu burned into their brains...
A sharp critic grabbed his spoon.
Quoting 9 p.m. news always sounds deep. This critic, who'd slammed the teaser as "awareness or copycat risk," wielded it for long-overdue attention.
But reasons didn't matter.
With a name critic aboard, reporters eyeing hooks dumped articles en masse.
Entertainment articles poured like a downpour. Go Seon-hyeong, face flushed as she scrolled, slammed her laptop shut.
Thud. Despite winning averages, losing premiere buzz from episode one boiled her blood—but she tried calming it.
Bzzz! A phone message pinged.
Reply to her gloating post-win message—from Kwak In-ho again.
Her lid blew.
"...That goddamn bastard—!!!"
Just after Monster City episode 2 ended.
"Heh heh heh heh."
Kwak In-ho cackled at his silent phone, hours unanswered. He knew exactly what would set Go Seon-hyeong off—and it felt damn good without her in the mix.
...She's fuming right now, huh?
After years of her ignoring him, he'd landed a solid hit. Snatching her finale buzz via skyrocketing attention.
Not all his planning, of course.
Thanks to Tae-gyu. That insane acting, precisely.
His gambling addict role seized peak ratings the moment viewers tuned in—and episode 2's end left them thirsty for more.
Kwak In-ho grinned at real-time drama forum reactions.
As expected, they thirsted for Lee Tae-gyu's mad acting level. That unquenchable thirst? Perfect fuel to drag Monster City to the finale.
Sprinkled breadcrumbs too... good.
Two more episodes with Tae-gyu. Till then, characters would tease the past big shot, dangling bait—then smash their backsides in two killer scenes.
I'm... right.
If reactions flopped, PD Ji Cheol-geun might demand reshoots—but no worries.
Now felt better than his prime Hell of Distrust days.
Knew it'd be like this.
He wasn't washed up—just unlucky till now.
...Lee Tae-gyu.
Nodding, he smiled at the rookie who'd restored his confidence.
You're blowing up for sure this time.
Cackling Cheon Yoo-seong.
"Knew you'd blow up, hyung."
Recalling Lee Tae-gyu, whose name blanketed the net in two days, he hammered out delayed SNS posts.
Tap tap tap...
Come to think, he'd already filmed two movies with Lee Tae-gyu.
Soon, when Lee Tae-gyu topped Korea, folks would say, "Lee Tae-gyu? Cheon Yoo-seong hyped and babied him early on." Cheon dumped every on-set pic.
Comments flooded—not just his fans, but searchers discovering the rising Lee Tae-gyu.
Interest in Lee Tae-gyu as an "actor"—sparked by one scene conquering Korea—swelled. Like inverting the sea into a funnel.
Gathering atop Lee Tae-gyu's vessel, the world's gaze would one day overflow onto him too, he figured.
Heh heh heh— Cheon Yoo-seong's opportunistic smirk spread.
Bwahahaha— DK Entertainment CEO office.
A belly laugh like he'd devoured a train boiler boomed through the room.
- "We can just win it back, right, teacher~?"
Kim Kwang-woo, watching Lee Tae-gyu's scene loop on the office screen, shot up for a standing ovation.
"See that! Total scene-stealer? Lines stick perfect too? 'We can just win it back, teacher~'"
"Sit down, you're too rowdy."
"So! What's the plan?!"
Kim Kwang-woo flopped onto the sofa, eyes bulging with curiosity at CEO Do Yoon-seop.
"Put him in my movie first? Boom, instant star! Told Jang Team Leader to drag him to workouts ages ago, but no dice—"
"Less than three months left."
"Wha... oh!"
Kim Kwang-woo's eyes widened. Recontract.
Lee Tae-gyu, his prized rookie, was on a short contract with DK till June.
"Right, lock re-sign first—"
"Meeting's set. He reached out first."
"He did?"
"Yup."
Do Yoon-seop lit his cigar, chuckling softly. But this smile lacked the old scorn for rookies' gall.
"What'd he say?"
"Wants another project. Right now."
"...Nuts. Three back-to-back done, and he wants next immediately? You don't buy that, right?"
"Who knows."
"C'mon. Obvious—he's fishing for recontract terms or CFs slyly."
Lee Tae-gyu.
"That's why we're meeting. Value skyrocketing daily, yet next gig now? Means he's plotting something."
"...What?"
"And hey, guy earns his keep? Easier to show him the money taste."
Because he'd proven it. No longer "potential earner"—he was the money.
Flip. CEO Do, cigar in mouth, pulled a paper from his drawer for Kim Kwang-woo.
"What's this?"
"Read."
Screen still looping: - "We can just win it back, teacher~?" The sticky line as BGM, Kim Kwang-woo's eyes grew as he scanned.
"No way—this—"
"Yup."
Do Yoon-seop nodded, exhaling smoke. The paper: meetings he'd snagged with sharp advertisers.
Beer, soda, organic veggies, organic fruit, driving school, pro cert academies, even local unis for diplomas.
"...Every CF we can 'win back' in Korea? Ours."
Do Yoon-seop murmured, greed lighting his face.
"Let's see if he still wants projects after tasting money."