Animal Kingdom
Unlike Reina, who just blinked her big eyes, the two national MCs showed a strong reaction.
"PD-nim. No, Gyu-won. Hyung's turning 50 the day after tomorrow. You got some grudge against hyung? I've been commuting on Gongjindan lately."
"That's expensive stuff. Congratulations."
Park Shin-young, realizing Yu Ho-yeop's words weren't getting through at all, tried a softer approach.
"Gyu-won, remember when noona bought you a fridge for your wedding? And a TV for your kid's doljanchi? 100-inch 4K UHD."
"The fridge and TV are getting good use. Wife loves the fridge, kid's glued to the TV."
Nam Gyu-won's words wiped the amiable smiles off both MCs' faces, and their gazes naturally turned to Reina.
Reina made a sheepish face for a moment before opening her mouth in her signature baby voice.
"Oppa~."
"Alright, everyone focus. Does anyone know the average ratings for Animal Kingdom?"
Reina's words were cut off before she could even start, and she pouted.
"7.9%."
"Good. Then what about the lowest ratings?"
No one spoke up—either they knew and couldn't say it, or they were just reading the room—and Nam Gyu-won raised his voice.
"3.5%. And that's the most recent one!"
Without his usual smile, Nam Gyu-won looked just like a bandit chief.
Everyone flinched, and then Yu Ho-yeop let out a quiet sigh.
"Gyu-won, is that our fault? We all know who's behind the ratings drop."
No need to name names—everyone knew Oh Hyuk-su was the culprit behind the recent plunge.
"Sure, Oh Hyuk-su was the biggest problem. But can everyone here say with confidence it's just because of him?"
Yu Ho-yeop shook his head.
"Probably not."
"You're saying that way too confidently, hyung."
Nam Gyu-won furrowed his thick brows and continued.
"I don't want to send you guys, who are nearing retirement age, running around like the production staff. Feels like a sin even sending out skinny little Reina. But at this rate, we're really done for."
Yu Ho-yeop, who had bowed his head at Nam Gyu-won's resolute expression, licked his lips.
"Still... we've done well so far..."
"If it drops below 3%, the show's getting canceled."
Everyone but me went wide-eyed.
After a brief silence, Reina clenched her fists and spoke up.
"Ah, no way! This is my only regular gig! I don't have any schedules right now!"
Yu Ho-yeop jumped in right after.
"Wait... for real? Who said that? No way?"
Nam Gyu-won lowered his raised brows and sighed.
"From the section chief. I can't do anything about it. Sorry."
"......"
What the hell kind of nonsense is this?
Shouldn't I be the one getting the apology right now?
I came out here to get some broadcasting buffs after picking a fight with the veterinary association president, and on the first day of the meeting, they're talking cancellation.
"Ha."
I couldn't help but let out an incredulous laugh.
Nam Gyu-won finally noticed me and nodded awkwardly.
This was the moment I understood why people always trash-talk broadcasters.
Nam Gyu-won clapped his bear-like paws to liven up the mood he'd bulldozed.
"Anyway, that's just talk—don't get too tense, everyone. Yeah, ratings tanked hard recently because of Oh Hyuk-su, but now we've got Director Baek Min-hyeok here, right? Let's give him a round of applause!"
As I debated whether to drop trou right then and there, thunderous, forced applause erupted in the room.
Thinking about it, refusing to film would be a problem too.
The articles were already plastered everywhere saying I'd been tapped as Oh Hyuk-su's replacement vet.
As I fought the urge to frown...
Yu Ho-yeop raised his index finger in the air with the look of someone who'd just had a brilliant, out-of-left-field idea.
"Ah, that'll work! We don't all need to go out anyway—Min-hyeok and Reina can do the outdoor shoots as mains. More screen time that way!"
Even closing in on 50 lines on his face, he still had that innocent glow while screwing over the new guy.
Peak national MC vibes.
But there was only one national MC like that here.
Park Shin-young nodded vigorously, as if struck by deep enlightenment, chiming in.
"Right. In a situation where the show's on the chopping block, you think an ajumma and ajeossi like me and Ho-yeop want to hog screen time? Better if Min-hyeok and Reina grab as much as possible."
For two people whose faces popped up on every channel, Animal Kingdom getting axed wouldn't hurt them one bit.
Of course, it was just a classy way of saying they were passing the buck, but Reina looked moved, her eyes welling up.
"Unnie... Oppa. Thank you so much. I'll do great on the outdoor shoots!"
No matter what these two national MCs said, a 23-year veteran show wouldn't go down like this.
TV ain't a game.
But suddenly, Nam Gyu-won put on a stern face and started clapping again.
"Reina, that fighting spirit—very good. Alright, so for outdoor shoots, shall we go with just the director and Reina?"
"Sounds good to me. Shin-young?"
"I'm for it too. No skin off my back handing screen time to Reina and Min-hyeok."
Saying it like they were doing me a favor.
It made sense in a way, but it still rubbed me wrong.
What rubbed even worse was Nam Gyu-won clapping with that stern face again.
"Great! Then for the first visit, let's pick that place."
* * *
Mid-June, when the sweltering heat should have started.
Today was the first shoot for Animal Kingdom.
Maybe due to some weather anomaly, an unusually chilly wind whipped around.
"Ugh... Isn't it too cold, Director? Doesn't feel like summer."
"Chilly, yeah."
Braving the bone-chilling cold that could lead to a cold if we weren't careful, Reina and I arrived at an apartment entrance in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province.
"Reina, Min-hyeok, we're rolling. I told the guardian about Choco and Chicken, so act like you're meeting for the first time, greet each other here, head up, ring the bell, and go from there."
"Yes!"
"Got it."
Unlike her ditzy meeting vibe, Reina greeted the camera with her idol energy—bright and peppy.
"Hello, Animal Kingdom viewers! Reina's here in person to meet our animal friends! And starting today, every week, I'll be visiting with our house-call vet! Hello, Doctor!"
"Nice to meet you. I'm Baek Min-hyeok, house-call veterinarian."
After a simple intro following her lead, we hopped in the elevator to meet today's stars.
On the 11th floor, Reina rang the bell, and a woman in her thirties appeared holding a golden olive-colored toy poodle.
"Hello. I'm Chicken and Choco's guardian."
"Hi~! I'm Reina! Oh my! You're Chicken, huh? So pretty~."
Before I could greet her, Reina reached out to let Chicken sniff her—as I instinctively stepped in front of her.
"Director?"
"I know you love dogs, Reina. But as a vet, I have to say what you just did was wrong."
Reina blinked in surprise, then pouted up at me.
"Me? Director, I raise two dogs myself."
Even Chicken's guardian chimed in.
"Chicken doesn't bite. It's fine."
—Whoa, that scared me. Almost got bit.
And the young man's voice following the guardian's had to be Chicken's.
'Of course, to everyone else, it'd just sound like panting.'
I turned to the camera and said,
"Since you have two dogs, I definitely need to explain this. There are three things you never do when meeting a new dog. And Reina, you just broke all three."
"Me?"
"Yes. And guardian, you need to know this too. Accidents happen when you don't."
Reina and the guardian both looked shocked as I took the full camera spotlight and explained.
"First—and this is a mistake people who love dogs make most often—is sticking out your hand."
Reina's big eyes went even wider.
Like she was saying with her eyes that it was ridiculous.
"You make a fist so they can't bite your fingers and let them sniff your hand, right?"
"Same thought, guardian?"
"Uh... yeah. That's what I knew. What's wrong with it?"
Not intentional, but I could already tell the screen time would skew my way on day one.
"Shepherds, who excel as police dogs, have a sense of smell about 4,000 times better than humans. Breed differences aside, dogs have olfactory bulbs four times larger than ours, giving them superior smell regardless. What Reina did—sticking out her hand—is about 60cm away, at best."
"Right...?"
"A dog's nose isn't so bad it can't distinguish at 60cm. Sticking out your hand doesn't make them smell better or worse. It just raises the bite risk."
Like humans, dogs have personal space.
People need to realize dogs don't like strangers at their door any more than we do.
"Leaning down with your upper body and making eye contact also provoke them. Reina, you did all three."
I skipped the details.
The studio panel would ask later anyway.
"I had no idea... I'll be careful."
"I thought Chicken was too sweet for that. Learning something today."
"Not sweetness—self-control. Let's talk inside. Is Choco in there?"
"Oh, yes. Choco doesn't react much to people... Choco! Choo-co!"
The reason for visiting this home today.
Not Chicken, but to assess the other toy poodle, Choco.
Choco had visited Oh Hyuk-su's clinic on a previous episode for tests, but the lethargy hadn't improved.
'Nam Gyu-won PD. Looks like a bear, acts like a fox.'
Day one, and he was blatantly setting it up to prove I was better than Oh Hyuk-su.
While verifying my skills too, no doubt.
Following Choco's guardian into the living room, I spotted a dog bed in the corner of the floor.
On it, a black fluffball huddled listlessly alone.
Unlike Chicken, who kept talking to me, Choco glanced our way once and turned away like we were nothing.
"Sigh, it's so weird. Unlike Chicken, Choco barely eats, won't go on walks, just lies on the bed all day. We even went to the vet because I was worried..."
Choco's guardian teared up looking at the sprawled, apathetic dog.
"No improvement, so I tipped off Animal Kingdom. Is it depression? Something wrong health-wise? I'm so anxious."
Reina, sensitive as she was, patted the guardian's shoulder with teary eyes.
As I prepared to properly observe Choco's behavior, it let out a quiet sigh.
—No... what's with the name Choco?