Rookie Talent Agent Knows It All

Chapter 93: Aftermath (1)

[Moonlight Starpour is off to a great start with an average viewership rating of 13.3% according to TNK!]

[Bold exposure! Fiery action! Moonlight Starpour transforms historical dramas! A historic start, signaling the onset of a new Korean Wave!]

[Blue Sky underperforms with a 5.9% viewership rating according to TNK.]

[In the first round of the drama war, Blue Sky faces a complete defeat!]

[Box-office guarantee Ju Yung-In. Is this how she falls?]

Ju Yung-In frowned after reading the articles.

"Only 5.9%? What? Is this for real?"

Kang Myung-Gil, who had arrived early in the morning, tried to console her.

"It's common knowledge that viewership ratings are low when child actors are featured in the first few episodes. You only appeared in the last ten minutes, so don't worry about these articles. The real battle starts from episode 2."

"But their viewership ratings are over 13% which is double ours! How can you stay so calm when we’ve been miserably defeated!"

But Kang Myung-Gil seemed utterly indifferent to her annoyance as he already knew Ju Yung-In was moving to Ace Entertainment soon. He was only here because of the president's special instruction to take care of her until her last day at Hoop Entertainment. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come at all.

"Read me some other articles too. It's too annoying to read them directly."

"Well, maybe it's better to just ignore them if you’re that annoyed..."

"Hurry up!"

Kang Myung-Gil started to read the top ten entertainment news headlines and comments.

"The original work is highly recommended as well. Moonlight Starpour never disappoints. Han Soo-Ho's physique is incredible..."

Ju Yung-In scowled at the comments praising the rival drama.

"Who asked you to read only the news related to Moonlight Starpour? Stop there and read about ours."

Kang Myung-Gil sighed and began reading articles and comments about Blue Sky.

"Blue Sky lacks excitement. It’s like healthy food without MSG."

"Keep going."

"Ju Yung-In perfectly pulls off a rustic outfit..." .c(o)m

"It's set 20 years ago, so it's supposed to be old-fashioned! Don’t they get it!?"

"Yes, yes, of course. You’re right."

"Ugh, this is so annoying. Why did I even join this drama?"

Ju Yung-In’s stress already started skyrocketing after just one episode. Until now, she had never been wrong about her instincts. Hence, she went with her guts again and went forward with this drama simply because it was chosen by the lucky talent agent, Jung Yoon-Ho. But now, she was shaken by doubts and worried she had relied too much on her instincts.

'I need to finalize the contract with Ace Entertainment as soon as possible. The viewership ratings could get even worse.'

The thought of experiencing failure for the first time sent a cold sweat down Ju Yung-In’s back.

"Mr. Kang."

"Yes?"

"I'll go to today's schedule alone."

"Alone?"

"Yes. So you can go back to the office now."

Kang Myung-Gil was puzzled by Ju Yung-In sending him back as soon as he arrived, but agreed and left. He was used to Ju Yung-In’s selfish and whimsical behavior anyway.

"Alright then. I’m really leaving, okay?"

"Please do."

As soon as Kang Myung-Gil left, Ju Yung-In called Kang Gam-Chan and declared her immediate move to Ace Entertainment.

Kang Gam-Chan reluctantly agreed.

-Alright. I did agree to accommodate your needs, after all.

That afternoon, Ju Yung-In stamped the contract with Ace Entertainment.

***

The atmosphere on the set was gloomy.

Even though only the first episode has been aired, Blue Sky had a low viewership rating of 5.9% compared to its competitor, which had double the ratings. To make matters worse, Moonlight Starpour was dominating the live search rankings on social media.

[Live Search Rankings]

1st Moonlight Starpour

2nd Moonlight Starpour Lead Actress Go Eun-Yung

3rd Moonlight Starpour Lead Actor Han Soo-Ho

4th Moonlight Starpour Original Novel

......

10th Blue Sky Ju Yung-In

The articles were full of comments like 'will watch Moonlight Starpour till the last episode,' 'Han Soo-Ho's abs drenched in water is breathtaking,' and so on. The mood on the set was so low that today’s shoot eventually ended early at 9:30.

While driving back to Seoul, Yoo-Jin belatedly checked the news articles.

"Oppa, is this some scam of some sort?"

"Of course it's a scam. No one thought Han Soo-Ho would be taking off his shirt from the first episode."

Moonlight Starpour was a story about a modern-day man 'Myung-Wol' who travels back hundreds of years on the day of a lunar eclipse and meets the princess 'Eun-Wol' of the royal family.

The power of the original work with million views was undeniable, but what truly contributed to the huge gap between the viewership ratings of Blue Sky and Moonlight Starpour was the scene where the top celebrity, Han Soo-Ho, took off his top.

It was a well-known fact that drama viewership ratings spiked when there were scenes with actors and actresses taking off their clothes.

‘How are we supposed to beat them when Han Soo-Ho showed off his abs while doing action scenes right from the first episode?’

On top of that, the battle scenes were as good as those in the American series Spartacus.

‘Well, that's PD Kim Sung-Woon for you.’

In my past life, Moonlight Starpour was a drama with a lyrical atmosphere. But the mood completely flipped after Kim Sung-Woon took over. The first episode replaced tears with action. And thanks to the popular actor's shirtless scene, the viewership ratings soared.

All of this was possible because Kim Sung-Woon knew better than anyone how to increase viewership ratings.

Yoo-Jin made a worried expression and asked again, "But will we really be okay with such a big gap in the viewership ratings?"

After signaling left to change lanes, I responded to her concern. "You'll have much more screen time starting from today's second episode, so the viewership ratings will definitely jump. Trust me~.”

Yoo-Jin burst into laughter. "Ah, oppa. Where's this unfounded confidence coming from?"

"You didn't appear in the first episode, so the low viewership ratings have nothing to do with you."

Yoo-Jin was scheduled to appear starting from the second episode that would be broadcast today—therefore she was not responsible for yesterday's low viewership ratings.

"But still... It's a bit disheartening to see such a huge gap from the first episode."

"Ju Yung-In must be feeling much worse. She appeared in the latter half of the first episode but look how the viewership ratings turned out."

That's when Kim Soll-Ip’s call came in.

-Mr. Jung. Can you come now?

I had no idea what was going on but agreed without hesitation.

After all, it was an unwritten rule to respond immediately to the writer's call.

***

It was 10 PM on April 2nd—the time for Blue Sky and Moonlight Starpour to clash for the second time.

In the SBC master control room, not even the drama department director—let alone executives—showed up, unlike yesterday.

"The president won't come today, right?"

"What kind of question even is that? Do you think they'll come after what happened yesterday?"

One of the staff scratched his head at the team lead’s scolding.

But just then, the door opened and Jung Sam-Ryong walked in.

"Huh? Mr. Jung? Aren’t you supposed to be on set right now?"

"No. Everyone will get too tense if I go to the set. Now...come on, everyone. Drink this and cheer up. It's just the beginning. Why such long faces?"

Everyone was disheartened due to the great start of MBS's Moonlight Starpour airing at the same time as Blue Sky. The situation worsened even more after Lee Ki-Do threw a fit yesterday.

The master control room staff, scratching their heads, took the drinks and asked, "Didn't Mr. Kang come with you, sir?"

Jung Sam-Ryong laughed at the team lead’s question. "He won't come near the control room for a while. He said he'd put his life on the line at the set."

"Please tell him to cheer up. It’s not his fault. It’s just that the competition is too strong. We can only handle the broadcasting, so there's not much else we can do..."

"Ha ha, what are you talking about? Everyone knows that nothing would work without you guys. If you're going to talk such nonsense after drinking this energy drink, give it back to me!"

Jung Sam-Ryong joked that each drink he bought cost 50,000 won. Thanks to him, the mood of the control room lightened up a bit.

"Alright, everyone. Let's cheer up as Mr. Jung said!"

"Yes, sir."

Then, it was time for the second episode.

"Standby. Moving on from the ads~ and...starting now."

The drama began after the lively Burger Queen ad.

After five minutes, the staff checked the viewership ratings nervously.

"How's the minute-by-minute viewership rating going?" asked Park Sang-Geun, the team lead of the technical team.

"Blue Sky is at 4.2% and Moonlight Starpour is at 10.5%," Kang Woo-Sung answered.

"We are doing better than yesterday, but they are still two times ahead of us."

The flicker of hope was extinguished. Sighs were heard from everywhere in the control room and speculations began about how much more the gap between the viewership ratings of the two dramas would widen today.

But Jung Sam-Ryong noticed something. "Wait. Did you say Moonlight Starpour's rating is 10.5%?"

"I’m sorry? Oh, yes. Yes, sir."

"Sorry to bother you, but can you tell me the minute-by-minute viewership ratings of both dramas every 5 minutes from now on?"

"Pardon?"

Though it was a hassle, no one could refuse a request from Jung Sam-Ryong. After all, he was the most likely candidate for the next director and was even aiming for an executive position.

Five minutes later, an unexpected report came in.

"Blue Sky is at 5.1% and Moonlight Starpour

"What? Why is Moonlight Starpour’s viewership ratings dropping?"

The control room’s staff looked surprised. The news of Blue Sky rising by 0.9% was overshadowed by Moonlight Starpour dropping by 0.1%.

Jung Sam-Ryong flashed a smile as if he realized something important. "Just wait and see. Things are going to be interesting today."

"Mr. Jung, don't just smile and tell us what you're thinking."

Jung Sam-Ryong shook his head at the team lead. "Let's talk after the results come out."

Ten minutes had passed.

"Blue Sky surged to 7.6%! Moonlight Starpour is at 11.8%. The gap is narrowing!!"

The control room became busy as the viewership ratings soared.

"Really? Are you sure it's not a mistake?"

"No, I checked two, three times. Look."

Kang Woo-Sung pointed at the graph showing the minute-by-minute viewership ratings which showed a sudden spike.

"Oh my goodness...he’s right."

Another ten minutes later, every staff member's jaw dropped.

"Blue Sky is at 8.5% and Moonlight Starpour is at 12.1%? What's going on..."

At that moment, Jung Sam-Ryong burst into a bright smile. "Ha ha! I told you so, didn’t I? Let's keep watching."

The rising trend of Blue Sky’s viewership ratings didn't stop there. With ten minutes left before the end of the drama, Jung Sam-Ryong only regretted that the third episode was scheduled for next week.

Right after the drama ended, Jung Sam-Ryong quickly picked up the intercom.

"Yes, Mr. Kim. The viewership ratings have just been finalized!"

Kim Gab-Soo's burst into a loud laughter upon hearing the final ratings.

-It seems I chose the wrong day to visit, eh? Hahaha.

***

After receiving the call from Kim Soll-Ip, I turned the car around and headed to her apartment. I arrived at 11 p.m. due to busy traffic.

Ding dong!

The door of Kim Soll-Ip's officetel[1] opened upon ringing the bell. She had her hair up with a chopstick and was wearing a tracksuit stained with ramen soup. Her attire suggested she hadn't left her house for days.

She greeted us and led us inside. "Come on in."

Kim Soll-Ip started to clear off the sofa.

"It's okay, Ms. Kim. We can just sit on the floor."

“Yes, there’s a cushion here anyway.”

Kim Soll-Ip scratched her head as she cleaned the piles of printed manuscripts scattered everywhere on the sofa. "A-are you sure?"

Kim Soll-Ip let out a sigh and leaned back in a floor chair.

"Sorry for calling you so late."

"Don’t worry about it, Ms. Kim."

Kim Soll-Ip was half out of her mind due to the huge gap in the viewership ratings. "I just didn’t want to be alone after seeing the viewership ratings for the first episode. But now that I've called you over, I feel like I shouldn’t have. Ah, the more I talk, the more sorry I feel."

It was unusual to see the normally confident Kim Soll-Ip so flustered.

Yoo-Jin held her hand and made eye contact. "Don’t say that, Ms. Kim. We are ready to come whenever you call."

Kim Soll-Ip let out a long sigh as if surprised by her own behavior. "Wait. Ah, what have I done? Miss Yoo-Jin, I apologize. Miso must be waiting at home...Ugh, now that I think about it, I'm really crazy. You two should go. I'll give you cab fare."

‘What cab fare? I have a car.’

Kim Soll-Ip started rummaging through her wallet in a disorganized manner. The anxiety of writers often manifested in strange ways. But Kim Soll-Ip was on the better side since at least she was expressing her apologies.

"Ms. Kim, Miso goes to bed at 10 p.m. I already received a call that she's asleep, so don't worry too much."

Kim Soll-Ip frantically looked for her phone. "Is that so? That's a relief. Then, would you like something to eat? Oh, but I can't seem to find my phone."

Just as I was about to offer to order something, the door opened automatically with a ringing sound.

"Soll-Ip, what are you doing? Oh? Yoo-Jin? Yoon-Ho? You two are here too?"

Lee Ji-Yeon appeared carrying something in both hands. In one hand was a bag labeled ‘3-second grilled pork belly’ and in the other was three large cans of draft beer.

"Good thing I bought extra."

Kim Soll-Ip replied curtly at Lee Ji-Yeon's words. "What are you doing here? Aren't you busy?"

"I came to check on you—looking at you, it seems like I made the right choice. Here, take these before my arms fall off."

I rushed to take the pork belly and beer from Lee Ji-Yeon’s hands before Kim Soll-Ip could get up.

"Yoon-Ho, how long have you been here watching her madness?"

Kim Soll-Ip got angry at the mention of 'madness,' denying any such behavior.

"We just got here as well."

Lee Ji-Yeon took off her shoes and asked as she walked into the living room. "Just now? Then did you hear about the viewership ratings for the second episode?"

"No, we haven't even checked the social media reactions yet."

"Is that so?"

Lee Ji-Yeon smiled slyly and spoke, "The viewership ratings for the second episode of Blue Sky were..."

1. officetel is a multi-purpose building with residential and commercial units ?