The PD of Sky Garden, Lee Min-hwa, was convinced that a lot was riding on this drama.
The ratings to be tallied this time would not only determine the success of the drama but also act as a significant turning point in the battle between KMB’s Drama Departments.
“So, this preview is really important.”
“But will it be effective? There’s no romance, after all.”
At one staff member’s comment, Lee Min-hwa narrowed her eyes.
Of course, that staff member wasn’t saying Sky Garden was boring.
In fact, they found it quite entertaining.
However, it was a notably challenging drama.
“The so-called youth dramas like Dream Future had romance.”
Though it did have a lot of comedic elements, it also included romance properly.
Plus, the OST in that work was fantastic, making it commercially successful compared to the storyline.
“But Sky Garden has no romance.”
“It may suit a coming-of-age theme, but…”
When people get anxious, they naturally compare it with existing works.
If something exists in others and not here, isn’t it bound to create anxiety?
Moreover, among the PDs and staff at the broadcasting station, a rough formula for a drama’s success was ingrained in their minds.
But Sky Garden was essentially a drama that directly violated that formula.
No romance.
The protagonist is a high school student.
While calling it a youth drama is questionable too.
It’s a complicated drama in many ways.
“Well, it could happen.”
As Lee Min-hwa was about to lose her composure, she held it back.
She could understand their sentiments.
“I believe that anxiety will be resolved once this preview is released.”
At those words from Lee Min-hwa, everyone’s attention turned.
Was the preview done well?
But honestly, even if it came out nice, they had no idea what the feeling was like.
Still, there was one positive thing in their minds.
“The main character is good.”
“If it’s Joo Seo-yeon, at least she won’t fail in acting.”
At the very least, the main character.
They thought they had selected well.
Her acting skills were amazing, and recently, Seo-yeon’s buzz was quite remarkable.
She was level-headed among her peers.
Since she was even mentioned alongside Jo Seo-hee, that says it all.
“At least for the lead role, we aren’t inferior to Director Baek’s drama, right?”
“Yes, that’s true. At least for now. But that side has its basic name value.”
Director Baek Tae-soo’s drama in comparison with Sky Garden.
The Grand Game was a drama that poured a lot of effort into various aspects.
Originally, the anticipated costs for the drama were double those of Sky Garden.
However, Director Baek succeeded in bringing those costs down to half by utilizing his connections.
Therefore, if looked at strictly by costs, Sky Garden was at a comparative level.
In many ways, it wasn’t a favorable situation for them.
Just comparing levels made it seem like the other side held a bit of an advantage.
“Ah, but did you see that variety show?”
“The variety show?”
“The recent one that aired next door, where Seo-yeon appeared.”
At that moment, a staff member smiled, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere.
If it was a variety show aired next door, there was no one here who didn’t know about it.
After all, it was a show featuring the actress who’s the lead in their drama.
“Oh, of course! It was fun.”
“That’s Seo-yeon’s mother, right? That lady?”
“Yes, that’s what I heard.”
“Wow, she looks so young. I mean, how can she look that young at that age? My wife…”
While chatting like that, of course, they didn’t continue for long due to the nature of the gathering.
It was just a brief topic to lighten the mood.
“That sounds nice.”
Lee Min-hwa, hearing that, smiled.
“Yes?”
“I heard that Seo-yeon’s mother has become a hot topic this time. I also heard about it.”
“Oh, so even the PD has seen it? It must’ve created quite the buzz.”
“That’s why I think it’d be good to slip in an interview with her for the promotion.”
“…Huh? With Seo-yeon’s mother?”
“Yes.”
Sky Garden dealt with the relationship between parents and children.
So even aside from the current buzz, featuring the parents of the actors for an interview didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Of course, not a long one.
Just a brief interview would suffice.
“It might be good to contact the mothers of other young actors as well.”
A brief history that could fit into the promotional video would work well.
“I’ll reach out to Seo-yeon directly.”
Lee Min-hwa said that.
And then.
“Mom, this PD is asking if you’d be okay doing an interview for the drama?”
“……”
Having already declined all the advertisements, Suah fell flat on the floor at that moment.
It seemed like it would be hard to refuse this one.
*
Anyway, they couldn’t afford to be negligent in promoting the drama or in variety shows.
Most importantly, Seo-yeon’s image improvement project was currently in progress.
“But if mom does the interview, won’t that complicate the image again?”
Anyway, it was clear that Suah had recently become a topic of discussion.
Having her appear for the drama promotion didn’t seem bad, either.
Coincidentally, Sky Garden revolved around the stories between parents and children.
So having the actual actors’ parents involved in promotion seemed fitting.
Moreover, the actors participating this time weren’t mostly second-generation actors.
“Alright, alright! Cut, cut!”
At the shout of the ad director, Seo-yeon let out a sigh and relaxed her posture.
Today was the day for the long-postponed Aids advertisement shooting.
As soon as Seo-yeon breathed out, someone came rushing from a distance.
It was Assistant Kim from the Aids advertising planning team.
Originally the team leader was supposed to come, but reportedly, their schedule got tangled due to the recent buzz.
“Recent buzz…”
Seo-yeon had a rough idea about that reason.
Wasn’t it called the Joo Seo-yeon Challenge?
Who would have thought it would become an issue like that?
“Back when I went to the gym recently, everyone was eyeing me with anticipation.”
Of course, the place she went to was to shoot observation variety content.
But at that very moment, the Joo Seo-yeon Challenge was in full swing, so everyone watched Seo-yeon closely.
That day, she hadn’t done strength workouts but just focused on flexibility and exercises suitable for her image management.
“Are you not lifting?”
“Is Seo-yeon feeling unwell? The bar is much lower than usual.”
“…….”
From gym trainers to managers, everyone was sneaking looks at Seo-yeon.
Even amongst them was the male actor Jung Hyun-woo, who often asked Seo-yeon various things.
This time he boldly shouted.
“I will take on the Joo Seo-yeon Challenge with actress Joo Seo-yeon!”
Right here!
The moment he said that, Seo-yeon almost fainted at the sight of the row of Aids chairs being brought in.
Why on earth is there an Aids chair in the gym?
Although it crossed her mind that the shooting team must have set it up in advance.
Realizing it was a shoot, Hyun-woo seated Seo-yeon on a chair and tried to lift it with vigor.
Well, the result was predictable.
“Ugh, cough.”
It was funny, but aside from that, she pondered whether a strange image would stick to her from it.
Although Seo-yeon had given up on such elements by now.
Rather, it felt better than being associated with some bizarre gorilla wielding a spear.
“But was I portrayed intelligently?”
“Huh? Ah, of course. Absolutely!”
Assistant Kim said that while giving Seo-yeon a thumbs up.
The ad turned out quite well.
“However, wouldn’t it be good to include a scene of lifting the chair?”
“……Then that wouldn’t be intelligent at all.”
“Haha, just kidding!”
Nevertheless, Assistant Kim was in high spirits.
In reality, the ad went smoothly and well.
Internally, there was a suggestion about incorporating the buzz of the “Joo Seo-yeon Challenge” into the ad.
However, the team leader of the ad planning team, Kwak Hyun-woo, shook his head.
“We’re a chair company. Using such memes in our advertisement doesn’t seem appropriate.”
Surprisingly, he rejected it firmly.
Instead, they advocated to utilize Seo-yeon’s image from Sky Garden.
Of course, there were many objections to that.
“Isn’t that a visible success? Why insist on that?”
“With the issue of the Joo Seo-yeon Challenge currently, we should leverage that!”
Despite their pressure, Hyun-woo merely shook his head.
Of course, with the director intervening, it wouldn’t be easy to reject all proposals just because of Hyun-woo.
Finally, it seemed like other directors had stepped in to mediate.
“I agree with Team Leader Kwak. We are a chair company, not an exercise equipment company.”
So they managed to move on, but internally dissatisfaction ran high.
Why take a gamble with the easy route available?
That’s the sort of feeling.
‘On that note…’
Though Assistant Kim made it lighthearted, the ad turned out remarkably well.
‘Lee Yoo-joo,’ was it?
That was the character Seo-yeon played in Sky Garden.
Currently, Seo-yeon indeed had an intimidating vibe, but Yoo-joo was entirely different.
‘She rejects people.’
That image strongly conveyed the feeling of despising and hating others.
Of course, that image was not expressed in the advertisement.
She simply portrayed the image of a studious overachiever.
Yet the intensity hidden within that image strongly resonated with Assistant Kim.
“There’s nothing to worry about. I watched it from the side, and it turned out exceptionally well. It might be one of our best ads!”
“That’s a relief.”
Seeing Seo-yeon smile politely, Assistant Kim genuinely became curious about the ad’s impact.
Sky Garden was scheduled to air alongside it, matching the advertisement’s release.
Whether it would be for the second or third episode was uncertain, but it was evidently around that period.
‘Will the team leader’s words bring benefit or harm…?’
Honestly, he had no idea.
If it were Kim, he would have undoubtedly produced an ad leveraging the Joo Seo-yeon Challenge to its fullest.
Looking at the recent appearances of actress Joo Seo-yeon, he thought it might be a bit tough.
No matter how intelligent and serious she may appear, just reflecting back on her recent variety show demeanor…
Such seriousness might just bring about laughter.
That’s the image a celebrity holds, after all.
The new image of Seo-yeon that Sky Garden would bring.
He only hoped that it would resonate well in the advertisement.
*
So, the day before the airing of The Golden Duckling episode 2.
Seo-yeon was enjoying a rare moment of rest.
Since her busy recent tasks had mostly settled down, she felt like she could take a break now.
“Hey, did you possibly watch that Vtuber stream?”
“……”
Seo-yeon averted her gaze at Ji-yeon’s words.
Regardless of any lies she might try to spew, it was bound to be mentioned tomorrow’s broadcast or episode 3.
Of course, Lee Ji-yeon seemed to have somewhat grasped Seo-yeon’s reaction and sighed.
Sometimes, Seo-yeon wasn’t particularly patient.
She tended to act impulsively, probably due to her emotional nature.
At least it was thankfully less than during her middle school days.
Ji-yeon thought while letting out a sigh.
Back then, she too had her own share of embarrassing moments.
“I got in.”
“Huh?”
“I passed the Gyeongseong Young Lady audition. I received a call this morning.”
At that statement, Seo-yeon involuntarily jumped up.
As everyone turned to look at her, she realized they were in a café and gently sat back down.
“Isn’t that Joo Seo-yeon?”
“No way.”
“She’s covering her face with a mask, so I can’t be sure…”
There was no way to stop the murmurs around her.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Seo-yeon leaned close to Ji-yeon and whispered.
“If something like this happens, you should’ve called me first.”
“We can just talk about it when we meet.”
Ji-yeon snorted in amusement, looking like a total mischief-maker, leading Seo-yeon to think, ‘Why does she have so many friends?’
“……But it seems there’s a problem.”
“A problem?”
“Didn’t you hear from Jo Seo-hee? Well, you might have not wanted to bother you.”
Giving a bad impression accidentally could be of concern; if Seo-yeon were to turn down the role, it wouldn’t be good.
Conversely, Ji-yeon had already secured her part and knew how significant this role would be in her acting career, hence why she mentioned it.
But Ji-yeon knew well.
Once Seo-yeon set her heart on a role, she never backed down.
“The role is kinda messed up.”
“The role?”
“In the original Gyeongseong Young Lady, there’s a servant role below yours. Someone who manages your household.”
Seo-yeon knew about that.
She was a seasoned actress, and that actress was essentially the hidden antagonist for this production.
That made the actress extremely important, which is why Director Baek was being cautious in selecting her.
“But that actor, by bad luck, turned it down. Apparently, for another film role.”
“……What about the contract?”
“Since filming hasn’t even begun, she probably just paid a small penalty to leave. It might not even be that.”
They didn’t know precisely how it went down over there.
The crux was that the role was left vacant.
“So, until they find an actor for that part, filming can’t likely proceed.”
One might think that since it was Director Baek’s movie, they’d find someone swiftly.
But it was surprisingly difficult.
Due to the lack of commercial aspects and low contract fees, sizable actors usually wouldn’t join unless there was a strong desire to act.
Moreover, it was specifically an antagonist role.
Would a major actor want to come for an inadequate amount of pay?
Not when the only draw was aesthetic quality?
‘There might be one somewhere.’
Sure, there are actors like that.
But finding them would take ample time.
“…….That…”
Seo-yeon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“Could you let Jo Seo-hee know I might have an actor to recommend?”
“You could just tell her yourself.”
“I’m currently in a bit of a dispute with Jo Seo-hee.”
“Why this time?”
Due to Ji-yeon’s silence about being cast along with her acting with Ramiel, Seo-yeon had recently tried to play the injured party.
Though it was all in jest.
“Fine, I’ll get in touch.”
Seo-yeon nodded.
An antagonist, huh.
And it needed to be someone with a significant presence, plus an actor that Director Baek would likely favor.
In that case…
There was one person Seo-yeon knew.
“Oh, Seo-yeon! It’s been a while. You want to fish together? Ah, wait, it’s not fishing, right?”
A senior actor who had been active for a long time.
In terms of pure acting skill, he ranked amongst the top five in Korea.
Five years ago, he returned from a painfully bitter overseas venture.
Recently, he participated solely in Star Fisher and occasionally kept in contact with Seo-yeon.
It was none other than actor Lee Sang-soo.
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