Chapter 171
I was sitting in TwoBear’s meeting room, sipping honey tea leisurely while watching the airborne PD Seon Yujeong fidgeting anxiously.
“Go ahead and tell me. Why do you want to use Yeoreum on your broadcast?”
PD Seon Yujeong, who expressed an intention to recruit Yeoreum, tilted their head in confusion.
“Isn’t that already all written in the synopsis? Yeoreum will be playing the main participant in our program.”
“Let’s skip the obvious nonsense. You already know what I’m asking, right? I’m not talking about that boring stuff. I want to know why you plan to throw the bombshell known as Jin Yeoreum, who has a massive anti-fandom controversy, into a perfectly good broadcast.”
“Hmm… Can I say no comment?”
I shot a firm glance at the evasive PD Seon Yujeong.
“If you’re not willing to share that, then we at TwoBear will have to decline the request to cast Jin Yeoreum.”
“Oh my, that’s tricky… But what if I just make up a reason? Wouldn’t it be easier to just pretend and put on a show?”
“Don’t worry about it. I can tell the difference, you know. If you can’t, you shouldn’t be in this industry.”
Seon Yujeong wiped off the somewhat dazed look and smiled broadly.
“It seems we can have a decent conversation. Rising from a mere manager to a hot item in the broadcast industry isn’t just luck, I suppose. It’s clear that such character settings and versatility can’t happen without preparation and design. Alright, I’ll admit that.”
…That definitely is luck.
“To be honest, as you might expect, yes, I’m planning to use Jin Yeoreum for noise marketing. After all, there hasn’t been a commercially successful dance-centered program in this country, right?”
“I recall the show ‘Dancing and Stars’ got quite a solid reaction back in the day?”
“That was back when this nation was crazy about survival programs. And that program, despite deploying numerous celebrities and introducing text voting, didn’t succeed that well. Even a diving show outshined it in terms of viewership!”
But isn’t that diving show just incredible?
“Anyway, that’s why I want to recruit Yeoreum. Our program needs some buzz. I need to create controversy to make sure people watch until episode 1, no matter what.”
“If the broadcast is decent, gathering buzz shouldn’t be that hard.”
“No, I don’t know about other programs, but ours isn’t focusing on famous celebrities right now; we’re gathering real dancers who hold high prestige in the underground scene. It’ll be hard to achieve such a rebound.”
No way. The show Seon Yujeong is planning centers around gathering real dancers from the underground, which could generate an exponential ripple effect and immense buzz.
“It’s going to have exponential impact and buzz.
Of course, for someone like me who doesn’t know that, and is in a position to ‘ask’ for Summer’s appearance just for the buzz, there was no need for that information.
‘What kind of structure are you envisioning?’
‘What structure? Obviously, it’s a free competitive structure and survival among the participating members.’
‘Don’t pretend you don’t know. There’s a structure or role you envision by bringing Summer on board, right? …Like a target, perhaps.’
‘Haha, well, I can’t hide it anymore. I’ve heard rumors that Team Leader Seon led the charge to blow up Girl 100, and seeing you in person makes it feel credible… What do you think about that rumor?’
‘…You’re going too far with the jokes. How can a single person blow up a broadcast? It just blew up because it was meant to.’
Seon Yujeong looked at me with a peculiar gaze and then said.
‘Well, fine. Team Leader Seon’s guess is correct. I see the main concept of this broadcast as a contrast between underground and mainstream. It’s not about pretending to be friendly while engaging in competition; it’s a raw show with aggressive dissing mixed in.’
The vibe felt different from the broadcast visuals I had seen in the future. I didn’t know how the changes from my regression played out, but it seemed to have influenced Seon Yujeong as well.
‘But if you just handle that confrontational structure, the underground side will be too disadvantaged, right? The mainstream has a solid fanbase to back them. Plus, the mainstream itself has a lot to lose, so they are likely to go on the defensive.’
‘So you plan to use Summer as a target to lead the atmosphere, huh?’
This was almost a given. It wasn’t just something happening on that broadcast; Summer would be a target on any show she went on. Seon Yujeong PD aimed to draw out the storytelling as an intriguing element of the broadcast.
‘…Perfect. I feel somewhat awkward as if you’ve stolen my words.’
I shook my head once in front of Seon Yujeong PD, who was smirking.
‘No need for sweet talk. Let’s get to the point. Since you’ve prepared for such risks, you must have a captivating return for us, right?’
‘What if I don’t?’
‘Why are you asking such a predictable question? Then, of course, the conversation ends here, and I walk away.’
‘Oh my, how scary… Well, fortunately, I do have one. A return.’
Seon Yujeong turned the laptop she was looking at and showed me a screen. The screen had a simple summary related to broadcast content and structure. Most parts were similar to my predictions, but one thing caught my eye.
‘Behind the intro? Why would you spend so much time on this?’
‘That’s the part where Summer will have her solo moments. I’ll weave in some negative comments she’s encountered and the efforts she’s made to create a pretty narrative.’
‘…So you’re saying you’ll use 20 minutes of a two-hour broadcast on someone’s personal story? In the first episode, no less?'”
“From episode 1?”
“That’s right. It’s not just about cutting it like that; there will be a normal distribution of footage afterward too. In fact, for the sake of publicity, it’ll probably be shown more than the other participants… to the point where there could be a controversy over favoritism.”
“…..”
“This is my prepared return. How does it look?”
Seon Yujeong said with a smirk.
“How about we do some image cleaning together?”
*
Seon Yujeong’s proposal was akin to a poisoned chalice.
Broadcasting on public airwaves and later rising to stardom would strongly showcase Yeoreum’s story, even more impactful than the documentary we initially planned for her in the future.
In terms of improving her image, you could say there’s no stronger PR than that.
But the risks were incredibly high.
From the previous conversation, it could be inferred that Seon Yujeong would take a protective stance towards Yeoreum on-screen. However, the cast would be encouraged to attack her.
Emotional protective footage focused on Yeoreum, alongside the aggressive remarks from haters that seemed to echo that sentiment, all presented right in front of Yeoreum.
The setup looked good. However, one must not overlook the fact that those criticizing her also have a solid fanbase.
Seon Yujeong didn’t seem to consider this, but the fandom of the under-participants was far sturdier and more powerful than expected. Confronting them wouldn’t paint Yeoreum as the tragic heroine but rather lead her to be regarded as a bourgeoisie that needed to be buried.
…No, if there are no variables, that would be the most likely scenario. After all, Yeoreum could easily be described as a public enemy right now.
But conversely, if the direction of public opinion toward Yeoreum could be subtly shaped in a positive manner, or if Yeoreum’s and Girl Revolution’s fans could be given a ‘reason’ to support her, then the ‘Ready to Dance’ show that Seon Yujeong had requested could serve as a turning point in reshaping the discourse surrounding Yeoreum.
[‘Information-related Compensation Selection’ will be used. The selection reward ‘Deep-rooted Transaction History’ will be granted.]
The ‘Deep-rooted Transaction History,’ which was used to find the culprit who leaked Yeoreum’s information while she was hiding under the alias Sunny, is arguably the best reward among information-based compensations.
By specifying a particular individual, this reward lists the information for that person over a set period; it’s simple yet boasts superior quality compared to rewards like ‘My Private Eavesdropper’ or ‘Only Watching You CCTV.’
However, even this ‘Deep-rooted Transaction History’ has its downsides.
If the individual’s transaction history becomes too broad beyond a certain threshold, it becomes unusable.
Naturally, when I obtained this deep-rooted transaction history, I intended to use it for Yeoreum. For instance, to target the doctor who used drugs on her back then.
Write in the direction of addressing a doctor using drugs.
However, the message I received clearly highlighted that flaw.
[The volume of transactions held by the target is too vast. Use is impossible.]
It meant that the ‘deep-rooted transaction history’, which is also utilized by entertainment industry reporters, is rendered unusable due to the sheer volume held by an average doctor.
Considering that such a message would typically pop up from a big-shot politician, it held quite significant meaning.
However, there was no special way around the system saying it was unavailable.
Feeling disappointed, I tried to satisfy myself by using the ‘deep-rooted transaction history’ for the reporter and forget about the doctor, but I changed my mind after seeing the reward I’d earned last time.
[Specifying the target for the ‘non-slip enhancement hammer’.]
[Deep-rooted transaction history is selected.]
Whether it was due to the type or not, there was a reward, the ‘non-slip enhancement hammer’, that would enhance my rewards, and I figured there might be a way to obtain information to defend Yeoreum against the restrictions the system spoke of.
[Do you wish to use the ‘non-slip enhancement hammer’?]
“….”
gulp.
Seeing the message made my fingertips tremble with anticipation.
Because despite being called non-slip, this damn reward still had a probability of failure.
When I first saw the message saying ‘the reward has been destroyed’ in the last round, I cursed the system as if it was joking, banging my head against a pillar while spewing nonsense.
“…Come on, live up to your name, you piece of crap.”
I had used it 5 times last round and succeeded once, so I estimated the success rate to be roughly 20%.
It could be lower or higher, but I felt a lot better just thinking of it as 20% since there was no way to know for sure.
I did have doubts about whether not using the enhancement hammer would be the smarter choice, but I also remembered that when it succeeded, rewards with the (special) tag had shown three times the efficiency, so I felt hesitant to give up.
20% sounds doable, right? I’ve seen people succeed with 0.02% in games, just give me one!
I clasped my hands together and spoke earnestly.
“Use.”
[The enhancement hammer swings.]
Please!
After gathering all the gods I knew and finishing my prayers, I cautiously opened my eyes.
The message was up.
[Congratulations! You’ve bypassed the legendary probability, and the enhancement was a huge success!]
[Unbelievably deep-rooted transaction history (Legendary)]
“….”
What the heck is this?
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