Descent of The Demon Master [EN]: Chapter 251

“Is today the first broadcast?”

“Yes.”

Min So-young, the head of the PR department at Code Entertainment, rubbed the dark circles under her eyes and spoke in a tense tone.

“It has to be good….”

Today is the day we recoup all the effort we’ve put in.

“We’ve flooded the media with reports, but if the acting is bad, we’re all going to get crushed. The hate comments will be through the roof.”

“Do you have so little faith in your own actor?”

Jung Seok-soo replied with a wronged expression.

“I trust Se-ah. I trust Se-ah, but…”

Jung Seok-soo scratched his nose a few times and said with a sigh.

“As you know, it’s not like you won’t get hate comments just because you’re a good actor. When a singer transitions to acting, there are so many people who look at them with prejudice. Eun-young isn’t very visible, but she doesn’t have a small number of antis [anti-fans] either.”

“But the number of antis has decreased a lot since the last incident, right?”

“That’s true.”

Jung Seok-soo unconsciously burst into laughter.

Her image was almost ruined after the dating rumors broke out. Usually, a celebrity’s image doesn’t get destroyed just because of dating rumors, but it was a big deal because Kang Se-ah was a minor.

If they had handled it poorly, her image would have been completely shattered, but Kang Jin-ho’s intrusion into the live broadcast actually boosted her image.

The reaction was that there was no way she would have had time to date with her family managing her so closely. Moreover, people found the terrible situation of the live broadcast accident to be funny.

It was a bit of a struggle to smooth over the accident on live broadcast, but it was the best incident for turning public opinion around.

“I heard from the filming staff that she’s good at acting, and the character itself has a unique charm, so if it clicks, it’ll be fine.”

“Yes, it has to be.”

Jung Seok-soo still couldn’t shake off his tension, clenching and unclenching his fists.

“But why on earth does she want to switch to acting?”

“It’s not a switch. She’s also diligently preparing for her album. It’s a side job. Everyone does it these days.”

“But Kang Se-ah had no interest in acting before. It’s not like she wasn’t popular as a singer either. It would be better to explore overseas expansion, but it’s bewildering that she suddenly wants to try acting.”

‘It’s frustrating for us in PR too.’

Min So-young gritted her teeth, as if reminded of the hardships she had gone through.

The PR team of an entertainment agency is a place where you get more stress than you can imagine.

If all celebrities had a good image and people supported everything they did, it would be a worry-free job, but unfortunately, most celebrities are outside of people’s interest.

The problem isn’t hate comments, but no comments at all.

Even if they are mentioned in the media with all sorts of promotional materials and various means, most of the time, they don’t even get attention, and if they barely get attention, the phrase ‘They’re doing dirty media play’ always follows.

After barely getting past the unknown and media play stages, antis start to appear.

It’s still fortunate if there are antis. Most celebrities retire without even reaching the stage of having antis after their debut.

‘That’s why Se-ah was so great….’

Kang Se-ah was a case who received all-out support from the moment of her debut and rose to fame at once. As an actress who skipped the unknown and media play stages, which are the most stressful parts of making a product successful, she was a filial daughter to the PR team.

But that filial daughter suddenly had a bee in her bonnet and started pushing to act, and then she suddenly brought a script from somewhere and even got a role.

The planning department is pleased that she does everything automatically, but for her in the PR team, it was infuriating.

If an idol acts, half of the comments are hate comments. This is because the fan base of actors and the fan base of singers are fundamentally different.

Her fan club is giving her support, which is a bit of a relief, but even at this moment, there are many people sitting in front of the TV with the intention of tearing Kang Eun-young apart if she acts even a little bit badly.

“Please, Se-ah, please.” I’m not even asking for a legendary performance. Just please don’t be too bad at acting.

“Are you sure she’s really good at acting?”

“I told you she is.”

“Not just in your eyes, Seok-soo, but are you sure the staff said she was good at acting?”

“Yes, they did. They did, but…”

“But?”

Min So-young glared at Jung Seok-soo’s reaction of vaguely trailing off.

“But what?”

“Well, they said she was really good at acting, but it would be difficult for her to shine this time?”

“What does that mean?”

Min So-young wiped her face irritably, as if annoyed. If she’s good at acting but it’s difficult for her to shine, it means the character is weak. It means that even if she’s good at acting, it won’t show.

‘That wasn’t the character….’

According to the script Min So-young saw, the role Kang Se-ah played was quite impactful. If she acted well and the timing was right, she could stand out more than the main character.

Although that wouldn’t be easy since the lead actress is Choi Yeon-ha.

“It, it’s starting.”

Min So-young put aside her questions for now.

That’s not what’s important right now. What’s important is how well the drama turned out. A reliable PD [Production Director] and writer met, and there are even more reliable lead actors, so they’ll at least do the minimum, but there was no guarantee that the drama would do well and our actress wouldn’t get criticized.

“The opening is clean.”

“The director is good with visuals.”

Jung Seok-soo stared at the screen with anxious eyes. The PR team members were all watching the screen with faces like high school seniors waiting for their college entrance exam results. They always have the same faces when a drama starring their agency’s actor starts, but this time, there was an especially serious atmosphere.

‘Please, just let it be a hit.’

The recent atmosphere at Code isn’t good. The ambitious four-member rookie girl group they prepared completely flopped. On the surface, they’re packaging it as if they’re doing well by receiving awards through all sorts of media play and lobbying, but there was no substance. No, it wasn’t just that there was no substance, but the deficit was dropping to a neck-breaking level.

On top of that, with the situation of two main actors transferring agencies, everyone is entering the CEO’s office as if they’re entering the gates of hell. If just one thing could hit big at this time, they could change the atmosphere.

‘Se-ah has to do it….’

It’s not just about the company’s situation, but it’s also an opportunity that could be a turning point in Kang Eun-young’s life. How much hardship did she go through during this filming? It was her first time acting, and she was even kidnapped recently.

Since it’s a drama she filmed after going through all that hardship, it must be a success.

‘There’s still half of the filming left!’

It’s a semi-pre-produced drama, so they still have to film 8 more episodes. If the initial viewership ratings aren’t good, the atmosphere on the drama set will be like a funeral home.

Jung Seok-soo, who was looking at the screen with a desperate heart while imagining all sorts of anxious things, burst into a shout.

“Huh?”

“What’s wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

Jung Seok-soo tilted his head.

‘Wasn’t that Kang Jin-ho just now?’

To put a full shot of someone who only appeared in the first episode, and who was practically a cameo, in the opening, what was going on?

It was a strange thing, but there was no need to draw attention with such a story when everyone was tense. Jung Seok-soo swallowed hard and waited for the commercial to end.

“It’s starting.”

Silence fell in the office.

Whenever they evaluate a new work, it’s like a movie theater. Instead of sitting comfortably and watching the drama, they create an atmosphere where they try not to miss a single scene with a serious attitude.

At times like this, it was hard to even make a swallowing sound.

Jung Seok-soo quietly got up from his seat.

‘I can’t watch.’

It’s natural to watch and evaluate the work of the agency’s actors, but Jung Seok-soo found it too difficult to endure this moment. He knew how much the actors had suffered, so he couldn’t watch with a cold heart.

Jung Seok-soo carefully left the office, making sure not to block the view of others.

Jung Seok-soo went down to the first floor, approached the vending machine, put in money, and pulled out a carbonated drink.

Fizz!

He opened the lid and gulped down the carbonated drink in one go.

“Hoo…”

He was so nervous that his mouth was parched. Jung Seok-soo, who had come out of the building, sighed as he looked at the dark night sky of Seoul.

“It’ll be okay.”

They filmed it with so much hardship.

It was a drama that she had almost put everything into, even putting her album activities on hold. Working hard doesn’t always guarantee results, but he wanted to give her at least a minimum of success.

Jung Seok-soo paced anxiously around the lobby and outside the building until the broadcast time ended.

‘Is it over?’

He was afraid to go back into the office.

The moment he went inside, he would know whether the drama would be a hit or a failure. If there was a cold atmosphere, it meant the drama was failing, and if they were moving around energetically, it meant there was a chance to do something.

There are dramas whose viewership ratings increase as word of mouth spreads, but most dramas have their success half-determined by the first episode’s viewership ratings, and the rise and fall of viewership ratings are determined by how well the first episode turned out.

And the evaluation of that first episode would have come out now.

Jung Seok-soo, who was holding the doorknob of the PR team’s office, took a deep, very deep breath and opened the door.

‘Ah….’

The moment he saw the atmosphere inside the office, he felt like his vision was going dark. The drama was already over and commercials were playing, but the people in the office were all sitting still, not even getting up from their seats, and were just blankly silent.

‘This can’t be….’

It failed.

This was a typical reaction when watching a drama that was failing. Even if you don’t know about a drama before it’s made, if you can’t predict the success or failure of a drama after watching it, you can’t be in PR in this competitive entertainment industry.

‘It’s okay, it’s okay.’

It’s her first try. So Kang Eun-young had a good experience. She can do well next time.

Just as he was comforting himself, Min So-young quietly turned her head and looked at Jung Seok-soo, then widened her eyes and asked.

“Jung Seok-soo.”

“Yes?”

“Who is this person?”

“……This person?”

What is she asking?

Jung Seok-soo, who didn’t understand the words properly, tilted his head, and Min So-young urgently asked again.

“The actor who came out as Choi Yeon-ha’s ex-boyfriend. Who is he?”

“Ex-boyfriend? Ah!”

Jung Seok-soo said casually.

“That person is Se-ah’s brother?”

“Brother? Her real brother?”

“Yes.”

“The brother who intruded on the live broadcast last time?”

“Yes.”

Min So-young’s eyes shook greatly.

“Guys, did you hear that?”

“Yes, manager.”

“Prepare the press release. The moment we release the press release, the reporters who realize that we’re on their side will swarm, so prepare.”

“Yes!”

Jung Seok-soo tilted his head, watching the PR team members moving with determined faces.

“……How did the drama do?”

The atmosphere felt strange.