Chapter 92: First Broadcast
"Eun-Ah will soon reach adulthood and her father won’t be able to interfere with her matters then. Until then, please stay by her side and protect her."
As I explained how to deal with Eun-Ah's father, everyone listened attentively.
"Okay, oppa!" the members of Cherry Blossom answered in unison.
Nevertheless, Eun-Ah appeared disheartened and held herself responsible for unlocking the door, believing she could persuade her father, who had been forcefully banging on it.
"I'm sorry. It's all my fault."
"No, don’t say that, Eun-Ah unnie."
"That’s not true, Eun-Ah. Anyone would have opened the door in that situation."
Yang Eun-Bi and Sae-Ri took turns consoling her. I also reassured her and said it was nobody's fault, especially since it was her father.
During this whole time, Woo Yeon-Hee repeatedly mulled over my words in an attempt to store them in her memory. She had a look of determination on her face as she believed she had to protect Eun-Ah since she was the eldest in the group.
Seeing the strong bond between the four made me want to protect these girls no matter what happened. Most girl groups were known for being at each other's throats rather than being close—although they might get along at the beginning of their career, they would soon begin taking out their stress on each other.
But the Cherry Blossom girls seemed to have become even closer after this incident. I couldn’t help but smile at the scene before me—a scene that I had longed to see since I traveled back to the past.
***
Everyone who was involved in managing Cherry Blossom—Lee Dong-Min, Han Myung-Ho, and Lee Ju-Yung—all gathered at Cherry Blossom’s dorm.
"You did well, Yoon-Ho. You handled this situation perfectly."
Han Myung-Ho clicked his tongue and admitted that he wouldn't have been able to act so assertively like me if he had been there.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been away today of all days..." said Lee Ju-Yung as she let out a regretful sigh.
However, Lee Dong-Min simply shook his head and responded, "It's okay. It was an unexpected incident and it's all over now. There’s no need to feel sorry."
"Thank you, sir."
Lee Ju-Yung didn't receive much blame since the reason she was absent was that she had been out on official business.
Lee Dong-Min smiled at the Cherry Blossom members who were seated on the sofa. "You all must have been quite startled, huh?"
"Yes!"
‘Typical Sae-Ri.’
While everyone else forced a smile and said they were okay, Sae-Ri honestly shouted out how scared she was.
Lee Dong-Min turned to Eun-Ah and said, "Especially you, Eun-Ah. It's not your fault, so keep your chin up."
"Yes, sir."
"You all should know this already, but our company is very meticulous with contracts, even more so than other major companies. We have a great legal division to take care of the problem, so don't worry too much."
Eun-Ah nodded silently.
Having shared my plan with Lee Dong-Min, the conversation didn't drag on. Nonetheless, there was no such thing as a foolproof contract and there was always the possibility of finding loopholes. Hence, my initial strategy was simple: push Yoo Han-Seok away for now and buy as much time as we could. Once Eun-Ah reached adulthood in a month, we could renew her contract and make it impossible for her father to interfere.
Despite my strategy, the schedule in my planner remained unchanged.
[Everyday V10]
[May 11th, 2020]
-01:00 PM Training session for Handling Family Members of Affiliated Entertainers (basement level 2 theater.)
The fact that this event hadn't been canceled yet indicated that Yoo Han-Seok probably hadn't given up on his plans. There was one month until Eun-Ah became an adult. Depending on how you look at it, it was either a long or short period of time.
***
With the date of the first broadcast of Blue Sky approaching, an unprecedented tension began to ripple through the set. The rival drama, Moonlight Starpour, had amassed a dedicated fan base, comprising enthusiasts of the original work and fans of the male lead, Han Soo-Ho. They were actively dominating the comment sections of articles.
(Comments)
-Congratulations to the drama debut of the beloved writer Choi Sung-Eun!
-The male lead of Moonlight Starpour is named Soo-Ho. It must be fate that my favorite, Han Soo-Ho, is playing Soo-Ho.
-Blue Sky is the competing drama? Who's the lead in that one?
-Lol, let's not worry about that and just support our Soo-Ho.
Fans of the rival drama began to form viewing squads and dominated the online battle. Just when it seemed like they might take the lead, Yoo-Jin's fan club started to fight back and it led to a fierce competition between the two fan bases.
The two dramas vying for the top spot in live search rankings caused a stir on set and tensions were high. Everyone had initially looked down on Moonlight Starpour because of the combination of a novelist with no drama experience and a rookie PD. However, the atmosphere changed completely when they released a well-made trailer.
"It turned out better than expected, didn't it? The visuals are stunning..."
"Was it PD Kim Sung-Woon who was in charge? I thought there’d be no competition against a rookie director, but this is something else..."
Everyone on set was visibly tense.
Fortunately, the veteran actress Lee Sa-Rang kept everyone grounded. "We'll see the result after the first episode airs. Worrying now won't change anything, so let's just focus on our work. Why is everyone acting like newbies?"
The comment made by the actress with 40 years of experience calmed the atmosphere on set.
Despite facing the debut work of the famous PD Kim Sung-Woon, I trusted writer Kim Soll-Ip's script and Yoo-Jin—and the future I knew of.
"Let's give it all we’ve got today, Yoo-Jin."
"Okay, oppa."
Yoo-Jin remained unshaken by her surroundings and focused on her acting. She truly was an amazing actress.
***
At 9:50 PM on April 1st, I waited in the meeting room with the staff of Actor Division 2 for the first episode of Blue Sky to air.
"When does it start?"
The impatient Gu Seong-Cheol got up and paced around anxiously. Eventually, he approached me. "Yoon-Ho, how's the atmosphere on set these days?"
In my previous life, Blue Sky started with a 7.5% viewership rating. But the situation was completely different now with Lee Ji-Yeon's In the Name of God canceled and replaced by the strong competitor Moonlight Starpour.
Still, I was confident.
"The atmosphere on set is good. The actors are all confident as well."
Gu Seong-Cheol nodded then asked, "But I heard the original novel of Moonlight Starpour is very famous. Have you read it?"
"I have. It's well-written. It's a romance targeting women readers, but it's still enjoyable for male readers too. Honestly, it was a good read."
Gu Seong-Cheol tilted his head and gave me an incredulous look. "Really? But you seem very chill about this."
"Well, that's because I trust Ms. Soll-Ip’s script and Yoo-Jin."
Gu Seong-Cheol scratched his head and let out a sigh. "Ah, if only things could go as you say. Let's cross our fingers and hope for the best."
With Yoo-Jin being the top prospect of Actor Division 2, everyone was anxious to see the result.
"It's starting!"
The moment the opening song of Blue Sky began to play, everyone in the Actor Division 2 conference room focused intently on the TV.
***
In the SBC’s main control room, the technical and programming teams were busily bustling around.
"Double-check everything for broadcast issues."
"Yes, sir. Everything looks good."
"Alright. Everyone, please stand by. We'll start the broadcast right after the commercial break. Check the lists again!"
The staff of the control team were too busy and in a state of frenzy to notice the gazes of Drama Department Head Lee Ki-Do, CP Jung Sam-Ryong, and PD Kang Soo-Hoon sitting behind them.
Lee Ki-Do nudged Jung Sam-Ryong sitting beside him. "How do you think the ratings will be tonight?"
"Well, the team worked hard on-site. The quality is excellent."
Lee Ki-Do frowned. “I’m not talking about our drama. I’m talking about Moonlight Starpour.”
"Oh. I mean, the original work is famous...but isn't Choi Seong-Eun a rookie writer?"
"But everyone has been saying the trailer looked good. Do you think we can handle that?"
Jung Sam-Ryong frowned and looked bothered by the hasty concerns and comments right before the first broadcast of his drama.
That's when SBC’s President Kim Gab-Soo walked in, causing all staff to stand up immediately.
Kim Gab-Soo lightly reprimanded Lee Ki-Do for his comments. "Ha ha ha, Director Lee. Why are you losing hope before the first broadcast of the drama? Let’s stay positive."
Lee Ki-Do quickly bowed. "Welcome, Mr. Kim."
"Ah, there’s no need for formality. Everyone, please sit down. Technical team, don’t mind me and carry on with your work."
With less than a minute left until the drama broadcast, Kim Gab-Soo tried to ease the tension.
"Let's relax and enjoy the broadcast. It'll go well."
Chairs were quickly set at the back of the control room and some junior staff discreetly left due to the uncomfortable atmosphere.
As soon as the commercial ended, the team lead of the control team immediately signaled the start of the drama.
The intro of Blue Sky began with cheerful music and images evoking the 1980s. Kim Gab-Soo and the executives smiled nostalgically.
"I was such a rascal back then..."
"Haha, I caused a lot of trouble for my parents too."
"Haha, did you?"
The executives, who were mostly in their 50s, exchanged childhood stories from elementary school. Everyone seemed pleased with the drama's smooth start and were especially impressed by the surprisingly excellent performance of the child actors.
"The child actors are doing better than expected, aren’t they? I was worried because they were mostly rookies."
"They really are. They all seem like they’ll become great actors in the future."
However, the staff monitoring the live time ratings looked worried, and as soon as the executives saw their expressions, they slowly fell silent.
After a long hesitation, Lee Ki-Do asked, "What's the rating?"
"Um, well..."
"What is it?"
When urged by Lee Ki-Do, staff of the control team, Kang Woo-Sung, hesitantly spoke with a trembling voice. "We started at 1.5%. And now it's at 2.2% after 5 minutes."
"What? 1.5% start? And only 2.2% now?"
The atmosphere in the control room became tense. Even though the drama started with child actors, this was still a disappointing start for Blue Sky, especially given the high expectations. Everyone had hoped for a 5% start and maybe 8% by now.
Kim Gab-Soo lost his smile and a silence enveloped the room.
After 20 minutes, Kang Woo-Sung spoke up, "We've risen to 3.7%."
It was an improvement, but very far from satisfactory.
Lee Ki-Do closed his eyes tightly and asked, "What about Moonlight Starpour?"
Kang Woo-Sung looked around the surroundings with dry lips and hesitated to answer.
"Come on, what is it?"
"M-Moonlight Starpour is at 9.2% per minute."
The unexpected revelation of Blue Sky lagging significantly behind Moonlight Starpour in ratings caused a chain of coughs among Kim Gab-Soo and the other executives.
"Ahem."
"Cough."
After a moment, Kim Gab-Soo stood up and tried to ease the tension with an awkward expression.
"Let's not get too nervous just yet, everyone. This is just the start, after all. I have some work to attend to so I’ll get going now. And CP Jung."
"Yes, sir."
"Report the final ratings to me directly after the broadcast."
As Kim Gab-Soo left the control room, Lee Ki-Do began to show his frustration out of anger.
"What's going on!? We poured so much money into this but why are we falling behind!? Speak up if you have a mouth!"
Jung Sam-Ryong had no rebuttal to Lee Ki-Do's outburst as arguing with an irate superior would only be like adding fuel to the flame.
And after an hour, the final viewership ratings for the first episode of Blue Sky came in.
Jung Sam-Ryong received the results and let out a long sigh.
"Sigh... This is... unexpected."
It was just the first episode, but the results were nothing like anyone had anticipated.
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