Golden Print [EN]: Chapter 94

Yoo In-shik, a director at KBC TV, settled onto his sofa. It looked like any other Saturday night. The living room was dimly lit, with the only bright light coming from the TV screen. Usually, this was his relaxing time, watching the latest entertainment shows.

But tonight, his usual calm was gone. He stared at the screen, his hands clenched in his lap. He was nervous. Tonight was the first episode of . And for Yoo In-shik, a lot was riding on its success. In the TV world, good ratings were everything. Good ratings mean success, and bad ratings can end careers.

“Please, let’s just break even, just break even!”

Ever since he became director, the only problem on Yoo In-shik’s record was the Sunday 9 PM show.

Of course, the cast unexpectedly caused a huge accident.

The ratings were so very bad that he couldn’t even bring himself to speak of them.

But if he could just get good ratings for this Sunday 9 PM show…

Yoo In-shik’s reputation would surely get much better.

Because, apart from this particular time slot, Yoo In-shik had achieved at least average ratings with almost every other entertainment program.

‘A rookie PD, so I’m a little uneasy… But still, my eye for talent shouldn’t be that far off.’

Yoo In-shik didn’t have particularly high expectations for PD Gong Jin-young, who had planned and produced .

She was an unproven PD with a lack of experience.

Due to circumstances, it was produced on a very tight schedule, and it was being broadcast two months earlier than planned.

Yoo In-shik was prepared to smile and praise PD Gong if simply recorded average ratings of around 4 to 5 percent.

He would be more than happy to do so.

“It’s starting……!”

His daughter, a high school senior this year, was studying in her room.

Yoo In-shik clenched his fists and whispered a timid “Fighting!”

He had never seen the filming footage of this beforehand.

That was why he couldn’t help but sweat even more.

‘Okay, the start is good.’

Yoo In-shik always checked the film before the final edit of any entertainment program, but the reason he didn’t watch in advance was different.

Since there was too little time until the broadcast anyway, re-shooting or re-editing was impossible.

He didn’t want to criticize the production team for small things by watching the footage beforehand.

If he couldn’t change anything even if he watched it in advance.

He thought that watching it with the mindset of a complete viewer, without any prior information, would be more helpful for objective judgment.

“Heh, Jae-yeop is really good at hosting.”

“Honey, please be a little quieter. Min-ji is trying to study.”

“Ah……! Sorry, sorry. My bad. I’ll watch quietly.”

In-shik, looking sheepish after his wife scolded him, began to focus on the content of again.

And as more time passed.

In-shik became completely absorbed in the entertainment program, as if he were being sucked into it.

“Heh, hee hee hee.”

“Can’t you watch quietly?”

“Pwahaha!”

“Really, you’re being so loud!”

“Dad!”

His daughter, who had been studying in her room, even stormed out with a frustrated expression.

But In-shik simply couldn’t turn off the TV.

He had to watch this entertainment program until the end, no matter what, because of his own performance record.

And apart from that, the entertainment program itself was just too much fun.

‘Did PD Gong know how to create such a clean format?’

‘The camera work, the point-of-view direction… This is real, PD Gong had every reason to be confident?’

In-shik sat in the corner of the sofa, holding back his laughter, and watched to the end without having the remote control forcibly taken away.

And after carefully watching the last preview.

As the ending credits rolled, he clenched his fists again.

‘That’s it. This is it. It’s definitely above average!’

In-shik prided himself on having a pretty good eye for entertainment programs.

He was a hard worker who constantly strived not to lose his touch, even as he got older.

Of course, ‘The Law of Ten Thousand Times’ had failed spectacularly.

But that, at least in the beginning, was an entertainment program that had shown average performance.

“Hoo.”

“Is it over now?”

“It’s over.”

“Okay, the show’s over. Time to let Min-ji study in peace, please.”

“Ah, I understand. I understand.”

In-shik, unable to resist his wife’s urging, went into the master bedroom, clutching his cell phone in one hand even as he lay down on the bed.

And the reason he was holding his cell phone was simple.

He couldn’t possibly fall asleep until he received the call that would come shortly.

‘It was definitely fun… What percentage of viewership did it get?’

‘The subject matter is a bit niche, so 7 percent? Or 6 percent? It must have exceeded 5… percent, right?’

No matter how sure he was that he had felt the fun, he couldn’t be completely certain of the result.

Popularity naturally has a quality that could not be perfectly judged by an individual’s eye.

Therefore, when the cell phone started ringing.

Vibration-!

In-shik couldn’t help but take another deep breath.

In order not to be too shocked in any way by the result that he would find out shortly.

But the next moment.

“Hello.”

“[It’s me, Director.]”

“What’s the percentage?”

“[Ah, why are you in such a hurry?]”

“So what’s the percentage?”

In-shik’s determination not to be shocked crumbled completely.

“[Director. It seems like we’ve hit the jackpot.]”

“Huh……?”

“[Highest viewership, 14 percent!]”

“What did you say?”

“[Highest viewership 14. Average viewership 12… There seems to be almost no drop-off, it’s really, insane!]”

Thud!

The news was so amazing, Inshik tried to jump out of bed. But he lost his balance and fell with a thump.

“Ugh…!”

“Honey! What’s all that noise?!”

His wife rushed into the room, sounding annoyed, like always.

His side hit the dresser when he fell. It would probably bruise, but Inshik didn’t care.

“Sorry! Sorry! I’ll be quiet now.”

Right now, he felt happier than he had in years.

‘Yes! This is it!’

Inshik smiled, thinking about tomorrow. He couldn’t wait to see the face of the Entertainment Bureau Chief. That boss always made fun of him, talking about working ten thousand hours to become an expert.

Monday morning.

The internet was full of news articles. They were all about the same thing: KBC’s new show.

Articles said things like: “[KBC’s New Show Gets Amazing Ratings!]” and “[ With Yoon Jae-yeop and Yoo Ria is a Big Hit on Sunday Nights!]” Some articles asked, “After shows about eating (Mukbang) and cooking (Cookbang), is it now time for shows about houses (House-bang)?” They talked about Producer (PD) Gong Jin-young’s big plans for the show. And they mentioned how famous actor Im Soo-ha was trying a new, friendlier image.

Back in 2010, shows about “housing” were new. No one had really made them before.

Being “new” meant it was risky. No one knew if people would like it.

Also, Producer Gong Jin-young wasn’t famous. So, people didn’t expect much from .

It only got some attention because Yoon Jae-yeop and Yoo Ria are famous.

But after the first show, the next day, the internet was buzzing.

The ratings, which show how many people watched, were much higher than anyone thought. They reached double digits!

└ Wow, why are so many articles popping up? Is it an entertainment show about building houses?

└ It’s not about building new houses, more like fixing up old ones.

└ I watched a clip, and the chemistry between Yoon Jae-yeop and Yoo Ria is amazing, haha.

└ I thought KBC would just make another strange show, but it looks like they’ve prepared properly this time?

└ KBC usually makes bad shows, so I’m still not sure. Are these comments real or paid for?

Actually, a 12 percent rating wasn’t a super big hit.

Back in 2010, some shows often got over 20% ratings.

And KBC’s PR team had promoted this show a lot in the last few weeks.

So, it was more like a medium success, especially for the first show.

But maybe because the producer was new, and the show before this one had been a total failure.

The excitement about was very strong from the morning, like a really popular show.

“Hehe. Good start, like I thought,” Woo-jin said to himself.

Woo-jin had come to school early and opened his laptop.

First, he looked for articles about . He nodded, looking very happy.

Actually, a 12 percent rating wasn’t that good for Woo-jin. He knew from the start this show would be a hit.

But Woo-jin wasn’t really in the first episode. It was just a little preview of what’s coming, because of how is made.

Woo-jin was sure the ratings would get even higher for the second and third shows.

‘The second show is the most important… But after seeing the reaction to the first one, I don’t think I need to worry.’

Woo-jin clicked through the articles. He felt like clapping for the KBC PR team. They were doing a great job.

They were acting fast while the show was popular. Articles about were appearing everywhere, like mushrooms after rain, even early in the morning when Woo-jin was online.

This wasn’t just because the show was fun.

Many times, good buzz doesn’t help if the PR team isn’t good enough.

‘In the second show, Ria’s personal page and the Café Fresco buzz should really take off… I hope many new stores open quickly, like crazy.’

But Woo-jin was excited to read more articles.

After a while, he saw article titles that made him blush.

“[K University Student Seo Woo-jin: New Designer in Architecture!]”

“[Famous Designer Kim Ki-sung and K University Student Seo Woo-jin?]”

Maybe because Jae-yeop and Ria were looking for Woo-jin at K University.

Woo-jin’s name and background were also being talked about in articles.

‘This is a bit embarrassing…’

But Woo-jin didn’t really mind.

It was normal for people to get interested in him now.

The PR team at KBC probably made these articles, but it was a normal way to create buzz.

People would be curious about Woo-jin anyway. He was a student, but he was chosen to be the expert on the show.

Also, Ria and Jae-yeop had even posted group photos with Woo-jin on their personal pages.

Because of all this, Woo-jin became more and more famous.

Of course, the main reason Woo-jin wanted to be on TV was to become famous.

But still, his face felt hot.

‘Will I get used to this?’

Woo-jin saw his studio name “WJ Studio” mentioned in some articles.

He looked even happier and started closing the articles on his laptop.

Actually, he didn’t come to school early just to read articles.

‘Okay, now, time for my assignment…’

He needed to finish his assignment before class.

He had come to the department office two hours early on purpose and opened his laptop.

But Woo-jin wasted 30 minutes reading articles. He couldn’t do his assignment now.

Soon, his classmates started coming into the office.

“Oh! It’s Woo-jin *oppa*!” one classmate shouted, pointing at him.

“Wow! It’s a celebrity!!” another classmate exclaimed.

His classmates started talking loudly and came up to Woo-jin. He couldn’t focus on his assignment at all.

“Hey, leave me alone! I need to do my assignment,” Woo-jin said, trying to wave them away.

“Ah, come on, *hyung*. Tell us stories about filming ,” one of them persisted.

“Yeah, yeah! You must have filmed the second and third shows already, right?” another chimed in.

“Right!”

“What’s Yoo Ria like, *hyung*? Is she really pretty like on TV?”

Woo-jin sighed. He closed his laptop.

Coming to the office early was a bad idea, he thought.

Golden Print