Chapter 61

On October 14th, *IRIS* officially premiered on KBS.

After nearly three months of anticipation and hype, this star-studded drama demonstrated its commanding presence right from the start.

When the ratings for the first episode were released, even the most confident director couldn't believe it.

28%.

This was a rating that many dramas could only hope to achieve by the end of their run.

Yet, *IRIS* effortlessly reached this mark from the very beginning.

The immediate result of this number was that the entire crew did not react with the expected joy and excitement.

Instead, there was an overwhelming sense of pressure and silence.

Every position, every actor, silently and diligently performed their tasks. The director began to meticulously refine every shot and every detail. The screenwriter, who had previously adapted the script somewhat casually, now took full control of the story's development.

At this point, Lee Byung-hun and Kim Tae-hee had already fully immersed themselves in their roles.

As a Wednesday-Thursday drama with only 20 episodes, their time was limited.

What time?

Perhaps challenging dramas like *First Love* or *Dae Jang Geum*, which span dozens of episodes, was impossible for this 20-episode drama. However, they still had some ambition, as according to the growth patterns of Wednesday-Thursday or Monday-Tuesday dramas, a well-received drama's final ratings could potentially double its initial ratings.

What does this mean?

For example, *Coffee Prince* had a first episode rating of around 15%, and the highest rating for the entire series was 30%.

Now, whether *IRIS* could achieve this doubling was a test for all the cast and crew.

But the number that could be reached by doubling from 28%...

This was something no one dared to truly contemplate.

The pressure was immense.

Even Yoon Hyun, who was usually carefree, felt a significant amount of pressure.

Just as Yoon Hyun felt he was about to be suffocated by this pressure, a phone call came to his mobile.

The caller ID showed "PD Cho." However, Yoon Hyun couldn't remember which PD Cho this was.

"Hello, Yoon Hyun xi."

"Hello, I'm Yoon Hyun. May I ask who you are?"

"I am the PD of MBC's variety show *We Got Married*, and my surname is Cho."

"Oh! PD Cho! Hello!" Yoon Hyun immediately recalled.

"Here's the thing, Yoon Hyun xi. I know you are busy filming a drama, but I still want to invite you to participate in our show, even though it feels a bit presumptuous."

"*We Got Married*?" Yoon Hyun was taken aback, as he was familiar with the show, which had received positive responses from the public, especially for SS501's Kim Hyun-joong, who gained a lot of recognition through the show. "Is your first season over?"

"Yes. Although it feels a bit presumptuous, since Kim Hyun-joong xi is focusing on filming a drama and the other couples have various schedules, they all decided to leave the show. Now, we are starting anew, which is our second season. When we contacted you before, you mentioned that if our show was good, you would be willing to appear in our second season..."

"PD Cho, no need to be so formal! You are older than me, so you don't need to use honorifics. Well, to be honest, I have watched a few episodes of your show, and it's quite interesting. I am interested, but I'm not sure about your filming schedule."

"Generally, we film once every two weeks, and one filming session can cover two weeks of broadcasts. However, there are exceptions, such as weekly filming or special events like trips." PD Cho briefly explained the filming process.

"Alright! When do you plan to start filming the next episode?" Yoon Hyun thought for a moment and agreed straightforwardly.

"You agreed to appear? Our next filming session is for the new couples to meet. Compared to the first season, we have some more interesting ideas. It will likely be on the following Saturday. Before that, we might need to conduct an interview with you, which won't take much time and has simple requirements. If your schedule is very busy, we can come to your drama's filming location..."

"Let's do it on Tuesday. Come to my drama's filming location next Tuesday at noon. We can do it during the lunch break. We are currently filming in Hungary and will return on Monday. I have to record *Infinite Challenge* on Wednesday or Thursday. It's quite tiring." Yoon Hyun thought and said.

"Alright, I'll contact you on Tuesday."

After hanging up with PD Cho, Yoon Hyun returned to the drama's filming.

"Hyun, you seem to be in a good mood today!" Kim Tae-hee asked after completing her scene and coming over to Yoon Hyun.

"Sister, I'm getting married!" Yoon Hyun said with a smile.

"Married?" Kim Tae-hee was taken aback. "Who is your girlfriend? I haven't seen her before."

"I haven't seen her either; I don't even know who she is!" Yoon Hyun shook his head.

"You haven't seen her? Then what kind of... *We Got Married*? You're going to appear on it?" Kim Tae-hee realized.

"Yes. The PD of the show wanted me to appear during the first season, but I was busy with my album at the time, so I said I would consider it for the second season. Now that the second season is starting, I think the show is quite interesting, so I agreed to appear!" Yoon Hyun explained.

"I'm really envious! I want to get married too!" Kim Tae-hee said half-jokingly.

"Then why don't you come too? We can play a couple, it would be fun!" Yoon Hyun suggested with a mischievous smile.

"Hey! You brat! You want to take advantage of your sister?" Kim Tae-hee playfully scolded and hit Yoon Hyun.

With the dedicated efforts of the entire production team, the filming in Hungary was completed smoothly.

Upon returning to Korea, the crew immediately resumed filming.

The pressure from the high expectations had successfully transformed into motivation. Even the most prominent actor, Lee Byung-hun, was in an exceptionally serious working state. He even suggested improvements for his performance on shots that the director, known for his strict standards, deemed satisfactory, and requested to try again.

Yoon Hyun also applied the experience he gained from his previous two drama productions and the wild variety show *Infinite Challenge*, offering suggestions to the cinematographer and lighting director to capture more diverse angles and perspectives, enriching the final production of the drama with more options for editing and expression.

It truly was a collaborative effort.

On Tuesday noon, PD Cho and a few staff members from *We Got Married* arrived at the *IRIS* filming location.

"Yoon Hyun xi, the scale of this production is really impressive!" As a PD of a popular MBC variety show, PD Cho had seen many things, but he was still slightly stunned and envious when he arrived at the *IRIS* set.

"It's just that everyone is working very seriously." Yoon Hyun said lightly.

"I will ask you a few simple questions and give you one or two small tasks, so it might take about an hour of your time."

"That's fine; my scenes for the afternoon start later." Yoon Hyun nodded.

The interview team quickly set up a black background and signaled that the interview could begin.

"Black background? It looks like a small black room." Yoon Hyun smiled and asked.

"Actually, our initial idea was a small black room." PD Cho laughed, admiring Yoon Hyun's sense of entertainment and understanding of the craft.

Yoon Hyun smiled and nodded, sitting down in his position.

"My questions will appear on the screen as subtitles during post-production. Now, the first question..."

"I'm a bit nervous..." Yoon Hyun smiled awkwardly.

Kim Tae-hee, watching from the side, couldn't help but laugh, holding her stomach.

"Yoon Hyun xi, you don't need to be nervous. Just think of it as a chat. We won't broadcast everything you say."

"That's why I'm nervous! You might edit it, and I could end up in trouble."

"… It seems Kim Tae-ho xi really left you with a painful lesson."

"Yes, now I have the good habit of thinking three times before saying anything on camera."

"… The first question: What do you expect from your ideal partner?"