Vrrr.
The sound of a smartphone vibrating rang out.
“PD-nim, I think your phone’s going off?”
“Ah, yes. Thank you.”
At the assistant director’s words, Hwang Gyeol nodded and picked up his smartphone.
Vrrr, vrrrr.
The phone, which had started vibrating a moment ago, showed no sign of stopping.
‘What is this? Did some problem blow up?’
When he checked the screen, Hwang Gyeol’s expression went blank.
What he’d thought was a phone call turned out to be a flood of text notifications.
What on earth was going on for him to be getting this many messages?
Hwang Gyeol opened one of the texts and froze.
―Kim PD: PD Hwang! Wow, did you really pull it off this time?
―Geum PD: Did you see the ratings? They’re insane right now. Treat me to a meal later.
What on earth were they talking about?
While Hwang Gyeol was tilting his head in puzzlement—
“P-PD-nim!”
One of the assistant directors sitting in front of him called out urgently.
At her flustered tone, Hwang Gyeol tilted his head and stood up.
“What’s going on?”
“I think you really need to see this!”
“What is it that…”
The moment he went behind her and his eyes landed on the screen she was looking at, he couldn’t help but stop in his tracks.
It was the ratings for the first episode of Baeknyeoncho.
[Episode 1 viewership rating: 8%.]
“…Huh?”
Seeing the ratings, then checking them again, Hwang Gyeol’s face filled with bewilderment.
“This… I’m not seeing this wrong, am I?”
“No, it’s really 8%!”
“Ha…”
At the AD’s words, Hwang Gyeol lifted his hand and covered his mouth.
Seeing him blink in disbelief, the assistant directors all wore expressions that said they understood perfectly.
A rating of 8%.
Not for episode 4 or 5, but for the very first episode.
‘So that’s why they sent those messages.’
Now, he finally understood the texts that had come to his phone.
A record of 8% was not something you could easily achieve.
Granted, it wasn’t over 10% like the dramas that get called masterpieces.
But 8% was by no means a low rating.
It was a number that made it more than reasonable to expect that they might surpass 10% later on.
“By the way, didn’t actor Han Seongtae say we’d hit 8%?”
“Huh? Now that you mention it, you’re right. Actor Han did say 8%.”
“Wow, I thought he was only good at acting, but I guess he’s good at predicting this stuff too.”
“PD-nim! Our results are great—how about we have a staff dinner?”
Their faces brightened at the fact that the drama had gotten off to such a good start.
Watching the assistant directors, a small smile also appeared at the corners of Hwang Gyeol’s mouth.
And right in front of them, news articles about the drama’s reaction began to pop up.
[Baeknyeoncho shows an unusual kind of romance!]
Less than a day after Baeknyeoncho began airing, articles started pouring out.
[A story containing the love between a yokai and a human!
PD Hwang Gyeol worked hard to portray the love between two different beings.
Now it’s fantasy romance! Baeknyeoncho captures the hearts of the public.]
Only a single episode had aired so far, but that 8% rating was more than enough to generate buzz.
On top of that, Baeknyeoncho was packed with popular actors.
Kim Mucheol and Cheon Yeji, often called “visual actors,” were starring as the leads.
The romance between the two was more than enough—overflowing, even—to tickle viewers’ hearts.
[Top crime-genre actor Kim Mucheol now turns to romance.
From rough, wild charisma to the sly allure of a fox.
Kim Mucheol—where are his limits?
With a fox’s love, he has human hearts in his grasp.]
As the drama started to blow up, the actors naturally became the center of attention as well.
In particular, this was the first romantic comedy for Kim Mucheol, who had never filmed anything outside of the action genre.
He’d always been overflowing with masculine charisma, but now he was showing a completely different side.
As Baek Yeon who is witty, comedic, and full of affection, he captured women’s hearts.
[Kim Mucheol and Cheon Yeji’s fiery love.
Cheon Yeji—another side of her charm revealed!]
Interest in Cheon Yeji rose right along with Kim Mucheol.
She had always been beautiful, but in Baeknyeoncho, she showed off a wide range of charms as if she were walking a fashion show runway.
The same was true of the other actors.
While all of them were drawing the public’s attention, there was one actor who stood at the very center of it.
[Han Seongtae, who is he?
From Park Haejun to Ji Yeonwoo, Han Seongtae shows two perfectly contrasting sides.
Some critics heap praise on his acting, calling him an extraordinary actor.]
Countless articles related to Han Seongtae were being uploaded.
He had already been getting attention thanks to Race Start and The War of Villains.
With Baeknyeoncho, that interest exploded like a bomb.
―Anonymous 22: Honestly, when I first saw Han Seongtae, I thought he’d flare up for a bit and then disappear. But he’s just insane. Absolutely insane.
―Anonymous 78: That’s the guy who played Park Haejun, right? Wow, how does that look anything like Park Haejun? He’s just Ji Yeonwoo itself. Park Haejun didn’t even come to mind while I was watching.
―Anonymous 88: Isn’t Ji Yeonwoo way too lovable? A puppy who only looks at one person! It’s seriously crazy.
Comments poured in.
There were so many comments praising Han Seongtae’s acting.
Up until now, Han Seongtae had only filmed crime and action projects.
And yet, for his first romantic comedy, he wasn’t showing some wishy-washy acting; he was showing performances that anyone could marvel at.
―Anonymous 54: I’ve seen a lot of actors, but it’s my first time seeing someone drag this much buzz around like Han Seongtae. This kid is absolutely going to blow up. He’s good-looking and he acts well. Wouldn’t it be weirder if he didn’t get big?
―Anonymous 78: Honestly, I agree with the comment above. Race Start, The War of Villains, and now Baeknyeoncho. If you think about it, that means he’s doing crime, action, romance, and comedy all well. I watched the whole drama with my jaw dropped.
―Anonymous 45: Is there really no one like Ji Yeonwoo out there? He looks like a puppy and everything he does is super cute. Is there no man who’ll only look at me?
―Anonymous 66: Exactly. Isn’t there anyone like Yeonwoo oppa? If my older brother were like Yeonwoo oppa, I could spend my whole life waiting on him. But my brother calls me a pig every time he sees me and tells me to go make ramyeon.
The reactions were boiling over.
And Han Seongtae was going through every one of them.
The news articles that had started going up the very day the drama aired, they were more than enough to make Han Seongtae feel happy.
―Anonymous 74: When’s the next episode? From the preview, it looks super fun.
―Anonymous 666: Ji Yeonwoo will be on again, right? I’m already excited to see what kind of puppy-like side he’ll show this time.
―Anonymous 111: Can I adopt a Ji Yeonwoo somewhere? I’m honestly confident I’d buy him on the spot.
―Anonymous 66: Exactly. If Ji Yeonwoo were up for adoption, I’d buy him right away. I’d keep him next to me, feed him, put him to sleep, bathe him, do everything. Hehehe.
―Anonymous 44: Isn’t the person above dangerous? The way they’re talking is scary as hell.
Some comments looked a little dangerous.
As he kept reading and laughing, Han Seongtae’s smile twisted for just a moment.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ suggests that, just in case, you should train your body even harder.]
Maybe he really should.
He did feel that he ought to be able to protect his own body, at least.
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ sighs, saying that in his day he also had countless obsessive fans.]
[‘The One Who Lives and Dies by Speed’ mutters that while fans are nice, obsessive fans make life miserable.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ shakes his head, saying he once had an obsessive fan who even stole his underwear.]
Han Seongtae could understand what they were saying to some degree.
The gods of acting were all great figures who had once whipped an era into a frenzy.
Compared to the countless things that must have happened to people like that, what Han Seongtae had gone through so far probably didn’t even amount to much.
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ says one of his obsessive fans once even came at him holding a weapon.]
[‘The Founder of Jeet Kune Do’ smacks his lips, saying that back then, it at least made it more satisfying to hone his body.]
Was that really the right kind of example?
Letting out a hollow laugh, Han Seongtae shifted his gaze.
Beneath the sea of reactions, one news headline caught his eye.
[Baeknyeoncho episode 1 reaches 8% viewership!]
The line announcing Baeknyeoncho’s achievement gleamed almost ominously.
―Kim Daehyeon: Seongtae, congratulations!
Han Seongtae’s smartphone was practically on fire.
Messages from people who had watched the drama.
They were cheering him on and congratulating him.
―Kim Rina: Senior, I really enjoyed the drama. Congratulations on the 8%!
⤷ Thanks for thinking of me.
―Choi Yechan: Actor Han, I thought you were only good at action, but I didn’t know you’d do romance this well too. We’ve got to work on another project together. I’ll always be rooting for you!
⤷Thank you for your support! I’ll work hard so I can live up to it!
Ever since the drama aired, Han Seongtae had been receiving countless messages.
Messages from acquaintances he’d made while acting.
More than a dozen people had contacted him, but not a trace of annoyance showed on his face.
‘I’m really grateful.’
Han Seongtae replied to each and every one of them, and a gentle smile lingered at the corners of his lips.
Those messages were proof that he’d been doing well up to now.
Because he knew that fact all too well, Han Seongtae could smile even more brightly.
[‘The One With a Thousand Faces’ looks at you with a faint smile.]
[‘The One Who Defined an Era’ smiles softly, saying he knows exactly how you must be feeling.]
[‘The One Who Made Laughter from Tragedy’ says this is the result of all you’ve done and tells you to accept it with a smile.]
At the gods’ words, Han Seongtae smiled and nodded.
The Han Seongtae of his past life no longer existed.
The Han Seongtae of this life was clearly walking a different path, and he could feel happiness through acting.
―Jung Dusik: Seongtae, you saw we hit 8%, right? Now all that’s left for us is to keep succeeding. We’ll be filming for Netflix soon too, so let’s stay strong.
⤷Yes, hyung. You worked hard too, and please take care of me going forward.
―Jung Dusik: I’m the one who should be saying that. Ah, right. Can you swing by the company sometime?
⤷The company? That’s not hard, but why?
―Jung Dusik: I’ve got some good news. You’ll see when you get here.
⤷Got it. I’ll come by after we finish filming later.
After his exchange with Jung Dusik ended, a new message came in.
―Kim Minseok: Hey, you asleep?
⤷I’m not asleep yet.
―Kim Minseok: You know you’ve got plans this week, right? You can’t oversleep like last time.
The path of acting stretched out before Han Seongtae.
T/N: Our boy getting the recognition he deserves, aahhh. The gods of acting are so supportive also <3
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