Extra 1: April Fools' Side Story
Translator: RaidenTL
Extra 1: April Fools' Side Story
Note: This side story is for April Fools' Day and is unrelated to the main plot.
“PD Seo Ho-yun? What’s he like?”
If you asked people who knew Seo Ho-yun about him, their reactions usually fell into two camps.
“……Well, he’s not… that bad of a person… probably.”
“……Really?”
“……Maybe?”
There were those who gave him a somewhat favorable evaluation like that. And then…
“FUCK! Why are you asking me about that guy?! That son of a bitch is—!!!”
There were those who trembled with rage and spat out curses.
Of course, even if they were divided, both groups were similar in that they didn't particularly like Seo Ho-yun, and their descriptions eventually devolved into insults.
However, in the former case, even after listing a string of complaints about him, if someone else joined in and seriously agreed, they would suddenly pivot. “He’s not that bad! Our PD might be a piece of work, but do you have any idea how talented he is?!” This defensive stance often left the person they were just gossiping with utterly bewildered.
Seo Ho-yun was that kind of man.
Meticulous, sensitive, and a perfectionist.
His personality was trash, but his skills were so outstanding that it was hard to find room to criticize him.
When he first joined the broadcasting station, many people looked down on him because of his pretty, youthful face and treated him carelessly. However, they would later receive his retaliation tenfold, eventually washing their hands of him and revising their evaluation to "a cold-blooded lunatic."
Naturally, the people around Seo Ho-yun, who had accumulated a lot of grievances, lived for April 1st.
They wanted to catch him off guard just once and see that cold face of his crumble.
Two years ago, on April Fools' Day.
“I really like you, PD Seo~.”
Even so, they were terrified of the retaliation that would follow if they ran their mouths too much, so this was the limit of what they dared to say.
People who usually avoided him like the plague, only stealing glances from a distance, would suddenly swarm him on April Fools' Day to say the same thing. From Ho-yun’s perspective, it was annoying, but not difficult to handle.
The problem, however, was—
“Yeah, well, I hate you.”
—that he was in a very foul mood that day.
He made his displeasure crystal clear, keeping his head buried in his computer screen and replying without even looking back.
“Did I… fuck, did I do something wrong to PD Seo??”
“No, I don’t think it’s that…”
Even though he had brushed it off as a joke in his own way, the person who had joked with him spent the next few days pale-faced, hearing rumors that they were on "PD Seo’s list."
Then, last year’s April Fools' Day.
“Bwahaha! PD-nim! Your personality is honestly garbage, but I totally respect and like you when it comes to work!!”
It happened to be a day when the team had a rare company dinner.
A colleague, mistaking drunken bravado for courage, approached Seo Ho-yun while he was smoking a post-meal cigarette a short distance from the restaurant.
“Is that an insult or a compliment?”
“Oh, come on, PD-nim! It’s a compliment! I’m saying I really like you! Haha!”
At that moment, Seo Ho-yun was actually in a good mood.
The senile Bureau Chief, who had lost his touch and rejected Ho-yun’s fresh, sleek proposals countless times, had finally approved his new program.
So, Seo Ho-yun chuckled as he crushed his finished cigarette under the sole of his shoe.
“What a coincidence. I feel the same way.”
“……Huh??”
He tilted his head up, met the colleague's eyes, and gave a smirk.
“Well, I’m heading out first. See you tomorrow.”
He was simply playing along with the other person’s rhythm.
That day, the number of times Seo Ho-yun delivered similar lines was more than he could count on one hand.
However, the people left behind were forced to flounder in a state of total shock and chaotic confusion.
In the end, the following day, representatives from each department—excluding Seo Ho-yun—gathered and decided to abolish the "Confession Prank" for the sake of company peace.
“The problem is that his face is just too unnecessarily handsome.”
“Exactly. He’s a total fucking psycho, but the problem is he looks perfectly fine when he’s just standing still.”
Of course, the backbiting about Seo Ho-yun continued as naturally as the coffee they lived on instead of IV drips.
After much discussion, they decided that the "I like you" prank was too cliché. From then on, they would choose only one junior staff member from the team to represent them and pull a prank.
And so, April 1st of this year.
“Dammit! Those shitty seniors!”
Bets were even being placed between the Entertainment and Culture bureaus.
Lee PD, a junior staff member who had neither power nor luck, was forced to move her heavy feet under the pressure of her mischievous seniors.
She had steeled herself and headed down to the editing room where Seo Ho-yun usually lived as if it were his home, but she was told he had gone to the music show filming set for once.
When she trudged to the location, Seo Ho-yun was already in the middle of a conversation with someone else.
She craned her neck to see who it was, and there stood Ju Woo-seong.
The famous center of Black Call and the hottest idol of the moment.
‘Wow, Ju Woo-seong is so handsome.’
“Woo-seong, the company will probably receive word soon. The details regarding the shoot will be sent then, and once you accept the casting, we’ll start adjusting the schedule.”
Ju Woo-seong’s brow furrowed slightly before quickly returning to normal.
“Ha, haha… It’s an honor. But, I don’t really know much unless it goes through the company.”
“Hmm, is that so?”
‘I heard Ju Woo-seong’s status has risen so much lately that he’s hard to cast??’
It seemed Ho-yun had personally come all the way here to catch Ju Woo-seong for a casting offer.
“Hmm…….”
When Seo Ho-yun just stared at him intently while stroking his chin, Ju Woo-seong looked around, searching for someone to help him.
But everyone just ignored him and hurried past. They didn't want to get involved with Seo Ho-yun either.
Finally, Ju Woo-seong hesitated for a moment before asking slowly.
“Is this a program you’re running, PD Seo?”
“I’m not the main PD, but… yes, I’m on it.”
“Aha…….”
Ju Woo-seong tried to hide his expression, but it was written in giant letters all over his face:
‘I really don’t want to do it.’
‘I guess Ju Woo-seong finds the PD uncomfortable.’
Seo Ho-yun was, of course, a subject of controversy not only among broadcasting station staff but also among the celebrities who had to work with him.
While there were occasionally those who followed him around, desperate for his clean work skills, or the extremely rare few who genuinely liked him as a person, it was difficult for most to deal with a man who had so many notorious anecdotes.
“Right, well, anyway, I’ll talk to the company.”
Just as Ju Woo-seong was suppressing the "no" that seemed ready to burst out of his mouth, Seo Ho-yun’s gaze swept over him from head to toe.
The junior PD covered her mouth to stop a scream from escaping.
‘Gasp!!’
It was the exact expression he made right before he started tearing someone apart for getting on his nerves.
Seo Ho-yun’s eyes crinkled as he gave a refreshing smile.
“Woo-seong, if you’re not coming because you’re uncomfortable seeing me, I’ll stay out of your way as much as possible.”
“What?! No, no. What are you talking about?”
“Ahaha, no, it’s just… your expression looked a bit like that. I don’t want to put any preeeessure on you.”
‘Ju Woo-seong is in trouble! The "Seo-Psycho" specialty—the guilt-tripping pressure tactic—has appeared!’
There was no way Ju Woo-seong, who sat at the top of the entertainment industry, wouldn't notice.
Ju Woo-seong began to panic, flustered.
“No, I mean, PD-nim, when did I ever…”
“No, no. I have to accommodate the cast as much as possible. Even though I have to give directions on set, manage everything, and take care of the other cast members! Even though we might have to run into each other once every minute!”
“No, no!”
“It’s fine. I’ll just walk like thiiis, looking only at the ground. I’ll sneak around in the shadows or places where the lights don't hit so I don't catch your eye.”
Then, he lowered the corners of his eyebrows sadly.
“If you still don’t want to do it after all that… I’ll explain it well to the Bureau Chief. I’ll tell him you didn’t want to appear because of me…….”
“…….”
Ju Woo-seong’s face turned as white as a plaster statue. He eventually gritted his teeth and spoke slowly.
“No. I really, really want to appear….”
“Wow! Really?!”
“Yes. I’ll make sure! To tell! The company! That I won’t do the shoot if PD Seo isn't there!!”
“Ahaha, you don’t have to go that far~ but since you’re insisting on saying that. Thank you so much.”
“…….”
The junior PD was horrified.
‘That’s so much pressure!’
Securing a casting like that—it was a method she had never seen or heard of before.
Seo Ho-yun kept making things absolutely uncomfortable until the very end, saying things like, “It’s okay even if you change your mind. I’ll just have to beg the Bureau Chief for forgiveness! You really don’t need to worry about it~! Just be comfortable, be comfortable~.” Only after Ju Woo-seong walked away, muttering curses under his breath like a prayer, did Ho-yun chuckle.
The junior PD agonized over how she was supposed to deal with those max-level "trashy" skills. Then, she remembered the faces of her seniors, who had shaken her shoulders and told her to do a good job because they had bet enough money to buy a share of stock on her.
Hesitantly, she finally approached and spoke to him.
“Um… PD Seo.”
“Oh? What brings Lee PD all the way here?”
‘Is he in a better mood?’
There were rumors that he relieved stress by grinding people down. Seeing him smiling brightly with a bit of renewed energy, the junior PD was timing her opening when—
“Why is Kim Hee-yeong over there?!”
“……Huh?”
“Lee PD, sorry. Later.”
Seo Ho-yun bolted upright and vanished in a flash.
No, "escaped" was a more fitting description for his movements.
‘…Who did he see?’
First attempt: Failure.
‘Let’s try again in a bit.’
A few hours later, she spotted him in the hallway and was about to approach when a colleague grabbed her by the scruff of the neck.
“Hey, hey! Not now, don’t do it!!”
“Ack, why?”
“You’ll die if you go now. Absolutely not.”
Looking closer, he was talking to a short woman.
Even from a distance, the atmosphere seemed quite intense. She later heard that the woman was his ex-girlfriend, who worked as a PD at another broadcasting station.
‘He had a girlfriend?!’
The junior PD was more shocked that Seo Ho-yun had actually dated someone with that personality than the fact that she had almost died.
Second attempt: Failure.
Work piled up frantically, and five hours later, overtime began.
At this rate, April Fools' Day would end without her even making an attempt.
‘Ugh, what do I do?’
The seniors who had bet on her success were sending piercing glares over the partitions.
She lacked confidence, but she was more afraid of the ruined social life that awaited her if she failed without doing anything. She steeled herself to just try something.
‘Third time’s the charm!’
She stepped out into the hallway and headed toward the breakroom.
A few minutes ago, Seo Ho-yun had mentioned he was going for a smoke.
The smoke break seemed to be over, as he was sitting on a chair next to the vending machine, muttering to himself with his hand on his forehead.
“Ah…… I’m so fucking pissed…….”
‘A Korean should also know when to give up!’
The moment the junior PD witnessed the storm brewing over Seo Ho-yun’s head and tried to flee—
“Lee PD, what is it?”
“Eek?!”
She froze mid-retreat at the sound of his voice.
He was scowling deeply, gnawing on the end of a pen, and asked without even looking at her.
“You’ve been hovering around all day. Don’t you have something to say?”
“A-Ahaha…. It’s nothing!”
“It’s clearly not nothing. Come and sit.”
She pushed her "I'm screwed" expression deep inside with a gulp and dragged her feet to perch on a chair two seats away from him.
‘Fine. Since it’s come to this, let’s just spit it out and get it over with.’
“I…… I, I, I want to, to, to quit!!”
She did it! She had done her part.
Seo Ho-yun surely knew what day it was, so he would either ignore her or, even if he fell for it, he’d surely snap back with something like, “What’s so hard when you’re just collecting a paycheck for doing nothing?” or “I’m thinking of quitting too, should we throw our resignation letters together?”
Then she could just blurt out "I'm sorry" ten times in a second and run away.
“…Why?”
“……Pardon?”
But the answer that came back defied her expectations.
“You don’t have to tell me if it’s personal, but is something at work bothering you? Is it because Senior Kang was being a dick the other day?”
“Huh??”
No, of course, if she were to quit, that would be about 95% of the reason. (The other 5% being Seo-Psycho’s own antics.)
However, she had no idea that Seo Ho-yun had been paying attention to that. The junior PD could only stammer, unable to give a proper answer.
Seeing her like that, the furrow in Seo Ho-yun’s brow deepened.
“If that’s the case, don’t quit. He’s only saying those things because he forgot what it was like when he was a rookie.”
“……Excuse me?”
“If you really can’t stand it, I’ll handle it so he can’t say anything to you anymore.”
“Whaaat??”
She had been doing nothing but saying "Huh?" and "What?" for a while now, but Seo Ho-yun continued with a serious expression.
“Lee PD, it would be a waste for you to quit like this.”
The junior PD’s mouth fell open.
And soon, a wave of emotion washed over her.
“N-No, it’s not like that!”
The thought that this sensitive, crazy, son of a bitch—who was nonetheless incredibly talented—actually recognized her worth moved her.
“I, o-of course I think it’s crappy sometimes, but I don’t really want to quit. This is the job I’ve dreamed of for a long time, I like it, and it’s rewarding! I want to work even harder….”
“…….”
The junior PD was too caught up in her emotions to notice, but Seo Ho-yun’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“I want to work hard and become a PD like you, PD Seo!!”
As he watched her beam at him with eyes full of trust, Seo Ho-yun realized exactly what was going on.
“Our Lee PD.”
“Yes!! PD Seo!!”
Seo Ho-yun smiled kindly and called out to her in a soft voice.
“You must have a lot of free time.”
“……Huh?”
For a moment, she saw an illusion of light radiating from his fatigue-stricken face.
But the junior PD knew.
“—Enough free time to pull pranks on April Fools' Day?”
She knew that this was the expression he made when he was absolutely, positively livid.
* * *
“Ugh, PD Seo, I’m sorry…. I-I’m not free…. Please stop giving me work….”
“Hey, what’s wrong with Lee PD?”
“I don’t know. Is she having a nightmare?”
Lee PD, who had been dispatched to the music show due to a labor shortage, was taking a nap in a corner of the set during a brief break.
When she began to groan and whimper in her sleep, the senior PD, who was the main PD of the music show, tapped her to wake her up.
“Lee PD, wake up. Who’s PD Seo?”
“…Ye-Yes? What kind of nonsense is that? Who is that?”
“Oho, nonsense to your senior? You’ve really grown a pair, haven't you?”
Lee PD habitually ignored her senior’s words and stood up, wiping drool from the back of her hand. Even though it had been quite a while since she stopped being the youngest, she was still treated like the "maknae" by her seniors.
‘This crappy broadcasting station….’
She felt like she had definitely had a terrifying dream, but she was just covered in cold sweat and couldn't remember a single thing about it.
Lee PD suppressed her curses as she stood up, only to find a drink placed on the floor next to where her hand had been.
She opened it, took a sip, and nudged her senior.
“Whoa, Senior, thanks for the drink. I’m touched.”
“What? I didn't put that there. Didn't you buy it?”
“……Eh?”
Then who?
It was strange, but she had already taken a few sips, and it didn't seem poisoned, so she chugged the rest.
Behind her, the members of The Dawn walked past in a group.
Seo Ho-yun, who had stolen a glance at Lee PD as she woke up and started moving busily again, turned his gaze away without lingering.
Just then, Jeong Da-jun clung to Seo Ho-yun and asked.
“Ho-yun hyung, what was that earlier? Why the drink?”
“It’s nothing….”
Seo Ho-yun replied, pushing Da-jun away as if he were a nuisance.
“I just saw someone I know.”