Chapter 57

< Rapid Current (2) >

“……20.3%?!!”

At PD Song Man-woo’s sarcastic remark, everyone in the meat restaurant opened their mouths wide. Well, it was a pretty impressive number.

“R- Really?”

“PD! Don’t joke around!”

“Really 20.3%?!”

In response to the staff’s clamor, PD Song Man-woo raised his thumb.

“That’s right, 20.3%.”

Dozens of staff and actors jumped up, cheering. It seemed a bit excessive at first.

“Wowww!!”

“Unbelievable! Over 20%?!”

“Awesome, awesome!!”

“Total hit! There’s going to be chaos tomorrow, right?!”

“Hey, hey! Let’s eat and die today!!”

They hugged each other and jumped around, and the second floor of the meat restaurant instantly transformed into a club atmosphere. They were all united. All the hard work and sweat they had shed up until now seemed to vanish in this moment.

Rampage.

The staff drank and shared their excitement, and the actors also joined in, imagining their bright futures. The managers of the actors were busy making calls to somewhere. Meanwhile, an assistant director ran down to the first floor to spread the crazy news.

Just like passing the baton.

“What? What’s the rating?!”

Choi Sung-geun, with his mullet hairstyle, who was on the first floor, rushed up to the second floor. Behind him were other actor managers. After hearing the ratings, Choi Sung-geun said,

“……Ha ha. 20%?”

He looked a bit like a lunatic. It was a rating he had never imagined. PD Song Man-woo, seeing this, handed a soju glass to Choi Sung-geun with a smile.

“It’s been about three years since we’ve seen a 20% rating.”

“But……Isn’t it rare for a show to hit 20% from the first episode?”

“That’s true. It’s a record, or rather, history. We and the other networks did unprecedented promotion, and the media hyped it up as a drama war. Viewers tried out different shows and eventually settled on ours.”

PD Song Man-woo high-fived the dazed Choi Sung-geun and continued to explain to the entire staff.

“But this isn’t the final overall rating; it’s an interim tally, so it might be a bit different. But it should be roughly the same.”

PD Song Man-woo patted the shoulder of Kang Woo-jin, who was sitting cynically.

“Park Daeri really kept the tension high in the second half. There were probably fewer viewers who dropped off, and it might even be higher.”

Soon, the staff began to praise the silent Kang Woo-jin.

“Wow- Park Daeri! Park Daeri!”

“Yeah! Park Daeri’s impact was real!”

“Woo-jin! Aren’t you a bit too calm?! Ha ha!”

But Kang Woo-jin seemed unusually indifferent. Why? Because his mind had stopped from the shock.

‘Crazy. 20%? Over 20%? ’

Even without knowing the exact entertainment industry ecosystem, Kang Woo-jin knew that a 20% drama rating was significant. He had seen how the nation buzzed when a drama hit a home run in the past. Currently, a 10% rating was considered high. But this was double that.

‘20% means……how many people watched it? ’

It was just an overwhelming result. Woo-jin recalled the subspace.

-[2/Script (Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), S-grade]

‘S-grade! Wow- It’s S-grade.’

Moreover, this was just the first part. In other words, the impact of S-grade was just beginning. At this moment, some of the staff, who had been in a frenzy, suddenly pointed at Kang Woo-jin.

“Ah! By the way, Woo-jin, your performance from the start was really outstanding?!”

“Yeah, yeah! Your filmography is amazing! You won an acting award at a short film festival, and your first drama has a 20% rating?!”

“Ha ha, that’s right! You won the bet, Woo-jin! You were spot on, 20%! ”

“Wow, really?!”

At this moment,

‘Ah.’

PD Song Man-woo, who was listening to the staff’s praise, realized something.

‘He was spot on with 20%? ’

It was about the ratings bet they had before the drama started. Thinking back, Kang Woo-jin had said,

‘I’ll bet 50,000 on 20%.’

He had said 20% in a very low tone, and it had come true exactly. As a result, PD Song Man-woo narrowed his eyebrows slightly and muttered to himself.

‘This isn’t just a totem activation; it’s on the level of predicting the future.’

Just the fact that he got the number right was enough to send shivers down one’s spine. PD Song Man-woo wondered if Kang Woo-jin was even human. If he was, he must be something like a secretary to God.

Of course, that wasn’t the case.

In this bet, Woo-jin had just guessed randomly. He hadn’t used the power of the subspace. In a way, it was purely Kang Woo-jin’s ability. A guessing skill based on the flow. However, PD Song Man-woo was serious.

Moreover,

-Swoosh.

Writer Park Eun-mi grabbed Kang Woo-jin’s hand again and closed her eyes.

“Thank you, thank you.”

It was an expression of gratitude to the totem. This time, Kang Woo-jin decided to just let it be. Honestly, responding was a bit bothersome. Then, the prize money of about 500,000 won from the bet was handed to Kang Woo-jin.

“Park Daeri wins! Here’s the prize money!”

The misunderstandings were piling up in real-time, but

‘Ah, free money.’

Kang Woo-jin was simply happy without much thought.

After that,

Around midnight, Kang Woo-jin was on his way home in a van. Even at this moment, messages and texts were pouring into his phone.

-Woosh.

‘So many messages are coming in.’

From the rising star director Shin Dong-chun of the ‘Mijangsen Film Festival,’ director Kwon Gi-taek, family, close friends, and acquaintances. Messages were piling up in real-time.

What was interesting was,

‘Why are these people suddenly sending messages and causing a fuss? ’

Even acquaintances who had been erased from his memory were sending messages. Although not many, over five had come.

-Kim Ah-jung: Woo-jin~ It’s been a while. You’re acting? You were in the drama, right?

-Park Jin-jae: Kang Woo-jin! You were in a drama? Did you start acting??

·

·

·

Kang Woo-jin, finding it odd, casually ignored the messages. There was no real meaning to them. He needed to reply to work-related messages immediately. With Choi Sung-geun and the team in the van, it was better to contact family and close friends later.

At this moment,

“Wow-”

Han Ye-jung, with her short hair, sitting to Woo-jin’s right, interjected in a cold tone.

“Articles are pouring in on all three major portal sites, second by second.”

Indeed, as Han Ye-jung said, articles about ‘Profiler Hanryang’ were being generated every second.

[Drapaik] ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Swept from the First Episode

It had been happening since the drama started airing, and the media’s choice was ‘Profiler Hanryang.’ Among the dramas participating in the drama war, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ stood out.

[‘Drama War’ Among the Three Major Networks, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Showcases Overwhelming Quality]

[Issue Pick] Ryu Jung-min, Hong Hye-yeon, and Others Deliver Flawless Performances……‘Profiler Hanryang’ Storms the Scene

Moreover, the media had a way to hear the ratings. In other words, everyone knew that ‘Profiler Hanryang’ was a hit.

‘Profiler Hanryang’ Real-Time Interim Rating Exceeds 20%

What was notable was,

‘Who is the actor playing ‘Park Daeri’? Turns out he’s a newcomer actor who won the acting award at the ‘Mijangsen Film Festival’’

Kang Woo-jin’s name was frequently mentioned in the articles. He was an actor with a story. Additionally, the impact of Park Daeri in the latter half of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ was intense.

[Photo] ‘Writer Park Eun-mi’s Praise is Justified, ‘Newcomer Actor Kang Woo-jin’ Steals the Show / Photo’

However, this was just the beginning. It was only about two hours after the drama ended. A silent but massive storm was approaching from afar. The real power of the storm would be seen from tomorrow, when public opinion joined in.

Even the public opinion was already half-crazy.

-Wow, it’s so good that I finished it in an hour! 😂😂😂

-I’ve chosen ‘Profiler Hanryang’

-It’s a legend 😂😂😂 I knew the comments would flood in 😂😂😂

-What kind of immersion from the first part?!!!!

On the chat board set up on the official website of ‘Profiler Hanryang,’ the number of posts by viewers had already exceeded ten thousand.

It was increasing by a hundred every time you blinked.

Usually, when a new drama starts, the number of comments on the chat board is at most a thousand. But now, ten times that number of real-time comments were being posted every second.

-Indeed, the quality of the drama is different when you gather only acting talents. The acting in the neighboring MBS drama is full of holes.

-Kang Woo-jin? Does he have any previous works? I can’t find any.

-I almost peed myself when Park Daeri appeared at the end.

-Ah……Ryu Jung-min is so handsome 😭😭😭😭😭

-Kang Woo-jin? Even as a newcomer, his acting gave me chills.

-I thought I was watching a movie 😂😂😂😂

-The lines and the development are very Park Eun-mi, but it’s so good.

-The tension rose sharply after Park Daeri appeared. He’s a proper scene stealer!

Of course, Kang Woo-jin’s name was quite visible.

This atmosphere continued to grow throughout the night of the 15th and into the early morning of the 16th. It quickly spread across the nation, from the media to public opinion. It spread from the internet to the internet, from phone to phone, from finger to finger.

And finally, by word of mouth.

Indeed, the impact of a 20% rating was not small. On the morning of the 16th, the official first episode composite rating of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ was announced.

[Ranking] ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Makes a Big Impact from the First Episode, Official Rating 20.5%

[Record-Breaking Performance, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Starts as a Legend with 20.5% Rating]

It was indeed a rating that exceeded 20%. This was the spark.

In fact, by this point, people all over the country were already talking about ‘Profiler Hanryang’ without distinction. On the morning of the 16th, the entertainment news section of famous portal sites was filled with ‘Profiler Hanryang.’ Other dramas were occasionally seen, but ‘Profiler Hanryang’ was dominant.

Moreover, in the cars driving on the roads,

“Let’s start with a drama, shall we? ‘Profiler Hanryang’! Did you watch it?”

“Ah- I didn’t, but my mom did. She said the first episode’s rating was over 20%?”

“Yeah, I heard it’s a record. I watched it, and wow- everyone’s acting was amazing. I was particularly impressed by the actor playing the psychopath.”

“Hmm? Who is it?”

“I looked it up, and