NOVEL NEXT Chapter 140
The atmosphere in the KMB Drama Department could be described as the calm before the storm.
Naturally.
With the department split into Division 1 and Division 2, it’s only logical that the staff and PDs beneath them would be quite unsettled.
The most important point being…
“Did PD Baek say anything to you? Like to come to our side?”
“Oh, I heard that. It seems like they’re now looking for members to build up Division 2 in earnest.”
“Looks like decisions will mainly be made from the higher-ups…”
“It sounds like PD Baek is specifically talking to people he wants to bring along.”
After some chit-chat, the PDs fell into a moment of silence.
Naturally, things would be communicated from the upper management, but with PDs, their opinions inevitably come into play.
Which only adds to the dilemma.
“Should I stay in Division 1?”
“Or should I move to Division 2?”
When it comes to abilities, they lean towards Director Ha Tae-oh.
After all, he quickly solved the incompetence of the previous director, and recently, the department has been lively thanks to Dream Future.
“But…”
PD Baek Tae-soo had connections with the president of KMB.
It’s uncertain which side will receive more support in the future.
If one isn’t an idiot, it’s natural to boost the more competent side.
However, in this case, the risk when it comes to failure outweighs performance.
If both sides fail spectacularly, PD Baek would likely get more opportunities.
That’s the nature of connections.
So, Director Ha Tae-oh is relatively at a disadvantage in that regard.
On the other hand, he had many PDs following him, all praised for their individual talents.
Plus, the vice president was also keeping an eye out…
“Ugh, it’s a headache.”
Connections.
Or the line.
Whose line to ride?
Who would’ve thought this would all play out in a broadcasting station?
Yet, in any workplace, one inevitably rides some sort of line, whether big or small.
However, the conflict between Drama Division 1 and 2 is bound to escalate.
One wrong move, and they could end up as aimless driftwood.
“Both sides have dramas currently in progress, right?”
“The results of those dramas will likely dictate the future paths.”
Before the division split, their last drama’s performance would most likely determine the PDs’ movements.
“What do you think about Sky Garden?”
“Sounds good. First of all, the recently discovered writer Min Se-hee has great sense. It’s a style that’s hard to find on public broadcasting.”
“Hmmm, that’s true. Whether it’ll be a poison or a benefit, who knows?”
“Well…”
It’s something that can’t be denied.
Writer Min Se-hee’s scripts are stylish and solid.
However, the romance is rather weak.
This aspect is a significant vulnerability for public dramas.
Writer Min Se-hee is aware of this fact and is trying to bolster it as much as possible.
“This isn’t a problem that can be solved in the short term.”
The PDs thought.
Since PD Baek Tae-soo had supported various writers, he likely had many exceptional writers around him.
So that side should be stable.
“By the way, I heard there’s a rumor about the drama PD Baek is filming.”
“A rumor?”
“That Song Ga-min is going to appear in it.”
“Oh, Song Ga-min. Right. I heard.”
When it comes to the rising actresses lately, she’s among the most frequently mentioned.
Song Ga-min.
She’s now twenty-five.
She started as a child actor, but her real rise to fame is less than a year old.
Her story, of numerous hardships leading to great success, has become a hot topic for the public.
“They probably want to pit the rising actresses against each other.”
“Since she’s going against Joo Seo-yeon, they might have paired her with an actress contrasting her.”
Twenty-five isn’t that old, but it’s hard to compare with a seventeen-year-old girl who’s causing all sorts of buzz.
“They set the stage.”
“A genius actress vs. a hard-working actress.”
While the public does get excited about the genius actress, humans ultimately cheer for the underdog.
It’s likely to focus on Song Ga-min, who had a harder time and took longer to succeed.
The success of a drama isn’t determined solely by the acting prowess of its actors.
It’s as if they planned it that way.
They’d probably make continuous promotional efforts in that direction.
Putting it another way, this meant Joo Seo-yeon’s image was so strong that they felt the need to go to such lengths.
Radiant star quality.
Monster-like potential.
That actress who’s been flipping KMB on its head since ten years ago is now…
“Mom, I want to go on an observational variety show.”
“…Huh?”
Mom, Suah, was flustered, trying hard to convince her daughter.
*
“Observational variety show.”
Commonly known to cover the daily lives of stars.
The show that received the offer this time is Golden Duckling, which focuses on the daily lives of stars living with their parents.
Since they’re stars living with their parents, younger actors tend to participate.
Although it’s quite a daring plot, the everyday life of a child actor as the first guest created a huge hit.
Covering the lives of child actors or young celebrities is quite popular in various ways.
Especially used for creating the public images of young stars.
Giving off the vibe of “Even though the kid seems fine on TV, they’re just a kid.”
“It’s from MDC.”
That broadcasting company had a surprising amount of connections with Seo-yeon.
During her child acting days, she had directly competed with MDC’s Action King against The Moon That Hid the Sun.
And it seems that during the recent Dream Future, comparisons were being made… but honestly, she didn’t remember that well.
After all, an actor isn’t bound to a single broadcasting company.
Programs like those don’t cause significant issues whether they are broadcasted somewhere else.
Once upon a time, it was a bit touchy, but these days, it’s not even comparable.
There have been instances of an actor appearing in dramas from all three broadcasting companies at the same time.
So for a variety show, it’s whatever.
“Honestly, I still don’t have a clear idea of what exactly I should do.”
Maybe just referencing other celebrities would do the trick.
Above all, Seo-yeon felt that this was truly a major opportunity.
“This time, for sure.”
Being the embodiment of ego-searching, she took great care of her own image.
Recently, her image of battling wild animals went viral.
Even…
– “Did Joo Seo-yeon just punch a dodom to death?”
– “Definitely has been quiet ever since, huh?”
– “Punching a dodom weighing around 200kg to death? Even that’s beyond Eunganu!!”
– “But it did die though.”
– “That’s true.”
Previous videos of the dodom resurfacing captured a slow-motion shot of Seo-yeon striking it.
While it was an unclear video, it seemed partly a joke.
“W-wait, this is dangerous.”
Watching her image getting destroyed in real-time made her sweat profusely.
To be honest, Seo-yeon envied Jo Seo-hee and Lee Ji-yeon.
In the case of Jo Seo-hee…
– “Totally has that villainous lady vibe.”
– “Looks like the daughter of a cult leader.”
– “Definitely has a wicked woman feel, but she’s pretty.”
Though she received such comments due to her relatively fierce look, one could also say it gives off a strong, noble villainess vibe.
It’s more like a high-end brand image.
As for Lee Ji-yeon, while her fandom isn’t as powerful as Jo Seo-hee’s, she’s building a similar image.
But…
– “Does Lee Ji-yeon still have no rumors of school violence?”
– “??? Still?????”
– “Hey, Lee Ji-yeon… step on me…”
– “Isn’t Lee Ji-yeon a bully?”
– “Don’t slander her! Our Ji-yeon is so gentle!”
Such comments circulated about her.
It seems Lee Ji-yeon is perceived as more down-to-earth compared to villainess Jo Seo-hee.
Looking at both sides, they both have strong feminine images.
Most comments call them cute or pretty.
However, in Seo-yeon’s case…
– “Can Joo Seo-yeon even burst a punching bag?”
– “Armed special forces vs. Joo Seo-yeon. Without guns, would she win?”
– “Even if they shoot, wouldn’t Joo Seo-yeon dodge the bullets?”
– “That’s paintball, right?”
– “But seriously, she could probably dodge actual bullets?”
“Hmmm… But it’d still be tough against armed special forces.”
Seo-yeon pondered seriously while reading those comments.
“Is this really a fan cafe for an actress?”
Of course, there were far more comments praising her looks for being pretty and cute.
Well, she is indeed good-looking.
Those who became fans initially mostly wrote about her beauty.
However, as time passes, they naturally get drawn to the Arena board set up in Joo Seo-yeon’s fan cafe.
“Is the Arena board originally a place for debating actresses intellectually?”
Seo-yeon seriously thought about it.
She occasionally saw it, but isn’t it usually just a discussion area among users?
Yet here, there’s far more genuine debate about how far Seo-yeon could win.
To be honest, Seo-yeon also had some curiosity.
“If she got hit by a bullet, would she get hurt?”
Considering her invincible TS skin, it seems she wouldn’t allow scars or wounds…
No matter how much exercise she does, no calluses ever appear on those hands, proving that.
Her skin’s always smooth and soft.
That’s the nature of Seo-yeon’s skin.
Surprisingly, among TS girls, that’s the basic standard.
“It could just mean she’s a bit sturdy.”
But since she’s never been shot, there’s no way to confirm it.
Not that she wants to be shot either.
“Hmmm.”
Seo-yeon pondered a moment before leaving a comment on that post.
– “What do you mean ‘defeating special forces’? I’m just an ordinary pretty and cute actress… let’s be moderate.”
That should be sufficient.
For Seo-yeon, this was her best effort with the comment.
Anyway, Seo-yeon liked being called strong.
“For my image.”
She almost wrote “Joo Seo-yeon would win” but changed it while trembling in frustration.
After leaving the comment, she refreshed the page a moment later.
[Your account has been suspended for 3 days.]
– Reason: Stop with the defamation.
“?”
Why am I being accused of defamation?
Is it defamatory to say it’s pretty and cute? Or did they take it as defamation because I said I’d lose to the special forces?
Seo-yeon glared at the post for a moment before closing the internet window.
“Looks like it’s only observational variety shows.”
Seo-yeon made up her mind.
This time, she was determined to improve her image.
Nonetheless, there were still plenty praising Seo-yeon for being pretty and acting well on her fan cafe.
But this Arena board felt off.
If she doesn’t improve her image soon, Éclat Étoile might contact her.
For the observational variety show, there was one big mountain she needed to overcome.
“Seo, Seo-yeon. For the observational variety show? Are you going too, Mom?”
“Mom needs to sit as a guest on the panel.”
“A guest on the panel?!”
Suah jumped.
She was shocked, and her heart raced.
Even with age, her chest bounced just the same, making Seo-yeon ponder slightly.
“Surely I won’t grow that big, right?”
It’d certainly seem like she could stop bullets with those…
“Mom is going on TV?”
Her younger sister, Joo Su-yeon, fluttered her big eyes.
“Oh, no. I’m not sure yet… If Mom goes, then Su-yeon can come too.”
“Me too? I want to go!”
Little Joo Su-yeon, an eight-year-old future elementary student, raised her arms high, excitedly.
At that adorable daughter, Suah’s expression softened but then quickly became serious.
“Well, you can’t go, Mom! If it’s a guest panel, that’s where the MCs talk!!”
“Because it’s for an observational show about watching sons and daughters, it’s fitting, isn’t it?”
“It’s fitting, but… then Seo-yeon’s school life will be shown, will it be fine?”
“Yes.”
Seo-yeon had no shame at all.
At least, regarding school life, she was the model student itself.
She took good notes and didn’t sleep during classes.
Standing tall, she never lost eye contact with the teacher!
“W-won’t our daughter’s insufficient friend relationships be revealed?”
“!!”
Seo-yeon’s eyes widened.
She never imagined that her mom would scold her about this.
“Well, you, at least you occasionally contact Ji-yeon’s mom or Jung-woo’s mom.”
“Ji-yeon is one thing, but did you actually contact Jung-woo’s mom?”
With that, wasn’t Jung-woo amazing for not being shocked when he made his comeback after ten years?
“Doesn’t seem like someone who would talk to her son like that.”
It seems they kept it a secret.
It’s roughly what it is, right?
Seo-yeon felt a strange mix of emotions at her mom’s subtle consideration.
“But doesn’t that mean you only have two contacts?”
Seo-yeon didn’t bother saying that out loud.
If anything, she’d probably have around three.
Lee Ji-yeon, Jo Seo-hee, and recently Gil Da-hyun.
Oh, and Cha Na-hee too. So that’s four.
If you count Park Jung-woo, that’d make five!
“I won!”
Seo-yeon shot a triumphant look at Suah.
At that look, Suah felt something strange bubbling inside her, but more than that, Seo-yeon’s words caught her attention.
“An observational variety show, huh.”
Suah had never engaged in the mothers’ club or parenting forums.
As a freelance programmer working on contracts, she rarely went out.
Nevertheless, mom Suah was quite content with home life.
But who would’ve thought such a thing would occur?
“Well, why suddenly an observational variety show? Isn’t everyone happy with physical activities?”
“Exactly, you know what my image is, Mom.”
“That’s healthy and good, right?”
“That’s true, but as an actress…”
Seo-yeon spoke earnestly.
“Revamping my image is something that must be done.”
“…”
Realizing there was no escaping her daughter’s serious sentiments, Suah knew how challenging it’d been to change her mind since childhood.
So she had no choice but to close her eyes.
An observational variety show.
It seemed unavoidable.
And so…
At MDC Broadcasting.
“Ayu~!! So nice to meet you!!”
A middle-aged woman fussed energetically.
She was Jeon Ha-young, the PD for MDC’s Golden Duckling.
As she looked at the girl in front of her, she licked her lips.
With black hair and a calm demeanor, even someone like Jeon Ha-young, who had met countless celebrities, momentarily lost her breath at this girl’s beauty.
She heard she’s still in high school, so it was unimaginable just how stunning she’d eventually grow up to be.
“Na-hee brought someone good.”
It was a casual remark. Still, she was genuinely bringing her in.
Jeon Ha-young barely maintained her smile as she kept greeting Seo-yeon.
If she let her guard down for just a second, she would have ended up staring at Seo-yeon in silence.
That’s how pretty and radiant this actress was.
“Joo Seo-yeon.”
The currently highly recognized actress at KMB Broadcasting.
Naturally, she was a coveted target for other broadcasting companies as well.
And this Golden Duckling was her first step into that.
In a way, Jeon Ha-young had come here with a very concrete mission from MDC.