Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 34

034. First Broadcast (1)

December 4, 2021

Kwon Seong-hyun’s eyes were serious. “You’re still doubting, aren’t you?” he said, as if he could read Yeon-woo’s mind. “I don’t blame you. I recognized your potential, but you don’t seem to see it yourself. I wanted to show you a way to confirm it without directly experiencing it.”

Yeon-woo considered the risk. “What if they don’t react as you expect?”

Kwon Seong-hyun’s plan was a double-edged sword. He claimed unwavering faith in his judgment, but unless he was a true fortune teller, there was always a chance he could be wrong. Even his mother, Madam Kang, a renowned shaman, often struggled to decipher the future.

“I’m confident in my assessment. The light doesn’t lie.”

“……”

*No matter how Yeon-woo looked at it, Kwon Seong-hyun was far from normal, a fact he’d already accepted.*

“Did you catch the part where they called me your number one fan?”

“Well… yes…”

“I feel a little misunderstood. *I am* your number one fan. Though, it’s enough if you know it.”

“Yes…” Yeon-woo replied vaguely. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling. *’A fan…’* A concept he never imagined applying to himself.

Until now, Yeon-woo’s life, if painted, would be dominated by dark, somber hues. His ‘specialness’ led to constant ostracization and bullying. But now…

*’It’s amazing,’* he thought. It was a novel sensation. The fact that strangers recognized, supported, and even cheered for him.

“Don’t forget, I’m number one.”

*Yeon-woo decided to generously forgive Kwon Seong-hyun, the man who manipulated situations and tested people as he pleased.*

***

After the coffee truck departed, the atmosphere on set noticeably improved. Kwon Seong-hyun’s fan club’s “Yeon-woo sighting” post generated significant media buzz, creating a positive ripple effect. The interest already sparked by Kwon Seong-hyun’s social media activity intensified.

“The director’s been beaming lately. Remember when he and the PR team used to scold him because of that idol? Now he’s loving it!”

As Min Writer pointed out, Director Heo arrived on set with a broad smile, as if the previous troubles had vanished. “We’re getting a special broadcast!”

“What kind of broadcast?”

“The making-of video we filmed to improve our image. They’re giving us a special slot for it.”

“Already?”

“The director said we have to strike while the iron is hot.”

Expectations for ‘Dimago’ were already soaring across social media and online communities.

“I made sure to include plenty of Yeon-woo’s scenes! He’s our lucky charm!”

“Yes?”

“Lucky charm, lucky charm!” *Seriously, what’s with that cheesy nickname?*

The director grinned. “Did you hear? Our drama’s been selected as one of the most anticipated of the third quarter! Until recently, everyone treated us like a flop! This industry is so superstitious. A little bad luck, and they write you off. But now, that’s all nonsense!”

Director Heo erupted in hearty laughter, visibly relieved. *[That person isn’t normal either…]*

Dongja-ryeong muttered, watching Director Heo raise his hands and laugh at the sky.

Dongja-ryeong, who had been absent for several days, returned in the early dawn the day before yesterday. *It wasn’t unusual; he was prone to disappearing without warning.*

“Anyway, Yeon-woo, I made sure to include a lot of your scenes so you won’t be disappointed! Look forward to it!”

“Yes… well…”

“The time slot is excellent too. We got lucky! A schedule was canceled, and I jumped at the chance. It’s incredibly fortunate that the broadcast was scheduled so quickly!” The director, once again, raised his arms and laughed, attributing their success to divine intervention.

“I have to share this good news! Hahaha! I can’t wait to see the faces of those who said I was washed up!”

Since it was a making-of film, some scenes lacked polish and organization. However, the drama filming team remained unconcerned.

“This is definitely going to be a hit. People aren’t expecting movie-quality production anyway. Satisfying their curiosity about the drama is enough!” One member of the filming team confidently declared.

And two days later, on a weekend evening, the making-of film, a product of the editing team’s dedicated efforts, was released.

***

[‘Dear My Ghost’ Recovering from a Bout of Trouble, “Still Alive~!”]
[Kwon Seong-hyun, Min Ye-rin. “Crazy Chemistry” A New Breeze in Romantic Comedy!]
[The Cheerful Atmosphere of the ‘Dimago’ Filming Set. Viewers Complain That 1 Hour Isn’t Enough]
[‘Dimago’ Ranked #1 as the Most Anticipated Drama! “Can’t Wait for the Air Date”]

“Kuh! That’s what I’m talking about!”

“Wow. I finally feel relieved.”

“I don’t know how much cider [Korean soda] I drank yesterday. I drank four plastic bottles!”

“Ah… So that’s why PD-nim [PD-nim is a title used to show respect to someone with the job title of Producer] was burping so much this morning.”

“Hey! Think of it as a good thing! My burps are proof that the sweet potatoes [metaphor for frustrating situations] are gone!”

The morning after the making-of video aired, a palpable energy filled the filming set. The positive momentum generated by Kwon Seong-hyun’s social media presence ignited into a full-blown blaze with the release of the video.

“Seriously, just thinking about that bastard Lee Deok-chun makes me feel like I’ve eaten a million sweet potatoes, I feel so stuffy.”

“With Director Heo and Writer Min, what kind of bad omen are you talking about! It’s not a live-script drama, it’s pre-produced, and you have Kwon Seong-hyun and Min Ye-rin, isn’t it strange if this doesn’t become a hit?” Everyone seemed to have a lot of pent-up frustration.

“Oh! Yeon-woo! You’re here? Did you watch it yesterday?!” Director Heo, spotting Yeon-woo, raised his hand, his teeth gleaming in a wide smile. At the director’s call, everyone turned to look at Yeon-woo.

“Oh! Our Grim Reaper!”

“Kuh! The star of yesterday has arrived!” Everyone’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

“Did you see Yeon-woo yesterday too? I deliberately put Yeon-woo’s scene in there, it was a total hit!”

“Yes… well…” He had seen it, but he couldn’t bring himself to watch it properly, so he’d only skimmed through it. *[Ahahahaha! It was so funny! The reason he looks so incredibly eerie is because of the ghostly energy he picked up while killing the water ghost without thinking! Ahahahaha!]*

Dongja-ryeong laughed hysterically.

“Shut up.” Fortunately, only Yeon-woo could hear Dongja-ryeong’s laughter, but that didn’t lessen the embarrassment. As Dongja-ryeong pointed out, the scene Director Heo had ambitiously edited and released was the one where he rescued Min Ye-rin. *[Actually, you can’t even call that a scene. You said it was filmed by accident! Why is everyone being fooled! Ahahahaha!]*

Whether the editing team had used some kind of magic, Yeon-woo, emerging from the water, looked every bit the Grim Reaper. Black slacks, a thin shirt clinging to his pale skin, accentuated by the water. And the lighting… *’Why… did the shadows have to be like that?’* The lighting was perfect, and then a sudden burst of light from the darkness illuminated Yeon-woo’s face before fading back to shadows. The image of him walking out of the water, half his face obscured, was truly chilling. If even someone who knew the truth could mistake it for a staged scene, that said it all.

But the craziness didn’t stop there.

“Our editing team really outdid themselves. They even added CG [Computer Graphics]. Did you see it? It matched perfectly!”

“Yes…”

“Wasn’t it like real fog? A Grim Reaper with a limp female lead, emerging from the deep night of the mountains with mystical fog! It was like he was saying, ‘It’s not your time to die yet!’” Director Heo shuddered.

“It was a scene that perfectly revealed his cold and principled side! Of course, we can’t use that scene in the drama, but I’m so glad that we were able to release it like this. It also saves Yeon-woo’s face a bit.”

As Director Heo mentioned, articles about Yeon-woo began appearing after the successful broadcast of the making-of video.

[The Grim Reaper of ‘Dear My Ghost’. “I Really Thought He Was a Grim Reaper.”]
[Who is the Grim Reaper of Dimago Who Walked Out of Death?]
[Rookie Actor “Grim Reaper” Kang Yeon-woo… Amazing Acting Skills Shown for the First Time]

All of them were articles that made Yeon-woo cringe. *[Yeon-woo! Look at this! There’s an article about you here too!]*

Only Dongja-ryeong was excited. *He was surprisingly adept at navigating the internet for a ghost, pointing out facts that Yeon-woo would rather ignore.*

*’Ah. It wasn’t just Dongja,’* Yeon-woo realized.

-Yeon-woo. Did you see the article? The article was based on a post written on our fan page. Kwon Seong-hyun was also excited and contacted me.

Yeon-woo quietly closed his eyes at the news that the article he had seen and been horrified by was being shared endlessly. *Dark, isn’t it? That’s your future,* it felt like someone was whispering.

*’If I die, the cause of death might be shame,’* he thought.

-Can’t we really watch it together?

-No. We can’t.

-Why? Are you worried that Yeon-woo won’t be in it? Don’t worry. I sneaked into the editing room and checked, and you look very cool.

Kwon Seong-hyun said with a gentle smile.

*’No. Why are you checking if I’m in it?’* The question arose in his mind, but Yeon-woo suppressed it.

-It’s the first broadcast, so I just want to watch it alone.

-Ah… You’re nervous. It’s better to watch it together at times like that. The more people monitor it, the better.

With those words, Kwon Seong-hyun once again displayed [Harvestable Lifespan: +4 days]. Yeon-woo turned his head, pretending not to see it this time.

After returning to his officetel [A Korean studio apartment] alone, Yeon-woo watched TV with half-closed, blurry eyes.

“Sigh. But I’m also worried because this is too big of a hit……” Director Heo, who had been very happy, suddenly sighed.

“What did I say? I told you not to just blindly like it, right?”

“Still, it’s better than starting with a completely negative image. It’s just that it’s become too big of a hit than I thought.” The reactions of the viewers and the reactions from the media are all friendly and even enthusiastic.

“What are we going to do with all that anticipation? Huh? It’s a relief that the reaction is good, but you’ve lit the fire too much.”

“That’s… true……” Director Heo’s shoulders drooped.

“And what are we going to do with Yeon-woo? Of course, it won’t be a problem if it’s Yeon-woo’s acting skills… But if you give him that much charisma from the beginning, how am I supposed to roll the character!”

“I’m sorry, Writer Min.”

“You should be sorry to our actors. The biggest risk is our actors.” That was true. The staff, who heard Writer Min’s words, realized the realistic problem and began to whisper.

“If this interest leads to the main broadcast and it flops……”

“Ugh. It was good at first, but after listening to you, I feel a bit burdened.”

“If we open the package with anticipation and it doesn’t meet expectations, we’ll get a lot of hate……” They had recovered from the resentment they had suffered in the meantime with this one shot, but it wasn’t the end.

“We have a long way to go……”

“We need to go into filming hard. With a sense of complete art in the visuals……” The production schedule was also tight. Unlike live-script dramas, ‘Dimago’ was a pre-produced drama, but when you think about it, it should be seen as a semi-pre-produced drama. In reality, it is still difficult to have a completely pre-produced drama in many ways. Especially in the case of the drama industry, where there is a deep-rooted tendency to reflect viewer opinions, even in the case of pre-produced dramas, the latter part is usually done slowly. It was inevitable as long as the opinions and public opinion of the viewers were reflected.

*’Plus, there’s still the mess that Lee Deok-chun left behind,’* Yeon-woo thought.