Chapter 087: The Meaning of the Lowest Rating (2)

“Cut!”

A shout that shattered his intense immersion faintly reached his ears.

The oppressive feeling that had been weighing down his vision and mind vanished as if washed away, and his narrowed field of vision suddenly opened up.

He, who had just returned from being the monk Go Seung to veteran actor Park Jun-ho, stood still and blinked several times.

“Sir, you did a great job. Your performance was really excellent. It felt like you could crush everything with just your gaze, hahaha.”

Jang Seung-won approached, bowed his head, and repeatedly praised his acting.

Park Jun-ho, who had been dazed as if waking from a dream, gave a bitter smile.

“Jang PD, is there some kind of hypnotic effect on this screen wall?”

Park Jun-ho pointed at the giant LED wall, and Jang Seung-won looked puzzled.

“Hypnotic effect?”

“No, when the director's signal came, I had the illusion of being thrown into the world of the drama. It felt like I experienced a brief out-of-body experience.”

“Oh, sir. You must have really deeply immersed yourself in the role of Go Seung. I could feel a deep, no, a genuine originality in your performance.”

Jang Seung-won praised Park Jun-ho's acting even more exaggeratedly than usual.

Since the expression seen through the monitor was faultlessly excellent, he felt no burden in mixing in some exaggeration.

‘What did this person feel from the Lens Authority? What did he see?’

Jeong Seo-hoon, curious about this, quietly looked into Park Jun-ho's pupils.

Though not as much as Lee Min-su, he was clearly confused.

Eventually, he forced himself to regain his composure and steady his breathing.

Park Jun-ho, who had moved closer, patted Jeong Seo-hoon's shoulder with a proud look.

“When I heard from Min-su, I couldn't believe it easily, but now I understand. Seo-hoon, you definitely have a mysterious aura.”

“Thank you for the compliment. I'll take it as encouragement to do better in the future.”

“It's not just a compliment, it's... ah, hard to explain. Anyway...”

Park Jun-ho himself was greatly confused by the strange immersion he had just experienced.

Sometimes, when acting, there are days like this.

Days when the other actor's face appears unusually large and more vivid.

When the camera seems to fade from consciousness, and the presence of the PD or director becomes blurry.

When the presence of the other actor and oneself is sharply focused.

‘It was completely different.’

However, the concentration he felt just now was a sense of oneness that was different from the occasional days when emotions flowed well.

Jeong Seo-hoon wasn't just larger and clearer; only the presence of the army general was vividly seen and felt.

“Do you like drinking?”

“I don't suggest it first, but I wouldn't refuse if someone offers.”

“I love drinking.”

He had heard that it was harder to find people who disliked drinking in the drama industry, especially the more famous and older they were.

“It felt like I was briefly drunk and then quickly sobered up. I can't explain it any other way. Jang PD, you don't have some kind of hypnotic device installed on this screen wall, do you?”

“No, I don't. But sir, because this wall is so large, actors often experience intense immersion.”

“Is that so?”

“Anyway, since we got such a good performance, it's a satisfying day, isn't it?”

Park Jun-ho looked around at Jeong Seo-hoon, Jang Seung-won, and the LED wall, and nodded.

“I wish I could have felt like this all along.”

***

Lee Min-su noticed it the moment he saw the eyes of the deeply immersed Park Jun-ho.

He was feeling the same sensation that Lee Min-su had experienced not long ago.

Would he handle it more calmly because he had been warned in advance, or would he be taken aback and flustered?

Either way, it was enjoyable to watch from a step back.

“Tragedy up close, comedy from afar...”

There was something in Jeong Seo-hoon that couldn't be explained in words. At least, Lee Min-su believed it.

But since that day, he couldn't touch that intangible sensation again.

It was just a repeated sense of futility, as if he were aimlessly waving his hands in the air.

“If I tell anyone this, they'll probably think I've developed a mental illness from acting for too long...”

The scene had already ended.

Park Jun-ho's bewildered reaction was quite satisfying.

He must have had a similar experience to Lee Min-su.

And he would walk the same path of confusion.

Was it because I was overly immersed today, or did Jeong Seo-hoon put some kind of hypnosis on me?

From reasonable speculation to absurd fantasies, his mind would continue to wander.

“Why are the journalists reacting like this when the atmosphere on set is so heated?”

Lee Min-su put on his reading glasses and held his phone.

He opened the browser and searched for entertainment news on the portal.

The titles that appeared one after another were all related to "The King's Promise."

Since "The King's Promise" started airing, mentions of "Hageup" (upstart) had drastically decreased in the entertainment section.

“The rare occasion when they occupied the entertainment section recently was due to those fabricated articles.”

The journalists who had been hooked by the fabricated scandal between Jeong Seo-hoon and Lee Seo-hyun had spewed out copycat articles like a torrential rain.

That explosive enthusiasm was probably the true standing that "Hageup" currently enjoyed.

“KBC must have made up their mind. Tsk, they have something to hide.”

“What do you mean, made up their mind?”

“Ah, sir.”

Park Jun-ho, who had returned, sat down beside him and asked, and Lee Min-su showed him the articles.

“Look at this. They're all about 'The King's Promise,' even though their ratings are over 10% lower than ours, the perennial second place.”

“Oh, that? I heard the vice president there is really pushing it. He's been warning every entertainment reporter he meets to behave well.”

“He's really stacking up his mileage. Trying to cover the sky with his palm.”

“Well, that won't work. A human can't defy the heavens.”

“Anyway, our general is definitely going to succeed. Reversing the tide.”

Park Jun-ho picked up the script.

But his eyes were not on the text; they were on Jeong Seo-hoon, who was preparing for the next scene.

Lee Min-su noticed this and chuckled silently.

“So, how was it? What did you think of working with the monster rookie?”

“Does that kid really cast a real-time hypnosis right in front of me?”

“Sir, I want to know too. If you find out later, can you let me know?”

“Did you ask him?”

“I just ended up looking foolish.”

***

Another Monday arrived.

This Monday, a ripple spread through the drama industry.

"The King's Promise," which had recorded its highest rating of 13% last Tuesday, had ended with its lowest rating of 9.8%.

["The King's Promise," Shocking Ratings!]

[Finally Breaking the 10% Barrier?]

[KBC's Ambitious Work, Finally Wobbling?]

The side of "The King's Promise" tried to evade the issue by emphasizing the "highest rating of 11.9%."

[The lowest rating during the broadcast time is not important. The highest rating is what matters.]

[No rating system emphasizes the lowest rating during the broadcast time.]

[Who talks about the lowest rating when discussing ratings? Everyone talks about the highest.]

The Beulab fandom wouldn't let such a good opportunity slip by.

Pretending to be ordinary viewers or passing "The King's Promise" fans, they diligently spread sources in articles and on SNS.

- Saying the lowest rating isn't important. What a fresh load of crap.

- I've been faithfully watching "The King's Promise," but I turned off the TV halfway through today.

- Hasn't the writer changed?

- I heard a story that someone's niece, who is the daughter of their father's actor's wife's grandmother, got involved in the drama. A while ago, a writer fought with a PD and went into hiding. They started live shooting with side scripts after changing the writer. Could this be about "The King's Promise"?

- I've really enjoyed it so far, but recent episodes are just not good. No human would write a script like this. Has the writer really changed?

- I'll just watch "Hageup" instead of "The King's Promise." lol

-Why did KBC push "Hageup" aside with 800 billion and invest 900 billion in "The King's Promise"? Was there some kind of factional fight in the production department?

-It's not too late. They should revise the remaining script and finish in 20 episodes to minimize losses.

-These fools are clenching their teeth and ignoring the lowest rating of 9.8%.

-It's not the highest rating of 11.9% that matters now. lol

- I'll tell you, the highest rating tomorrow will be below 9.8%. That's what today's lowest rating means. lol

And the next day, Tuesday.

"The King's Promise," which started at a 9.7% rating, ended without ever surpassing 9.7% for the entire 1 hour and 20 minutes (including commercial breaks).

The ratings, which had been in the low teens a week ago, had plummeted to single digits.

- The ratings are a mess because the script is written like that. tsk tsk tsk

- Don't you know that drama is all about the script? "Hageup" is so solid and stable.

- The writer of "The King's Promise" was too aware of "Hageup." They pushed hard from the beginning and quickly burned out.

- That's true. It's like a sparrow trying to follow a crane and tearing its legs.

- The early episodes were refreshing, but the focus on overly stimulating plot developments led to the collapse of the overall flow.

- No matter how the actors try to save it, a weak script can't be salvaged.

- "Hageup" doesn't have any big explosions, but it's steadily building up to the goal.

***

“Seo-hoon, do you want to have a drink today?”

After the filming ended, Jang Seung-won approached with a happy face.

“Is something good happening?”

It was a rare occurrence for Jang Seung-won, who was sensitive to schedules, to suggest drinking first.

“'The King's Promise' completely collapsed yesterday. How can we not have a drink on such a good day? The writer is very excited right now. Seo-hoon, you should join us for a drink today.”

“Of course, I'll go.”

Jeong Seo-hoon didn't refuse and joined.

Thus, the three of them laid out delivery food and canned beer in Jang Seung-won's editing room and raised their glasses in a joyful toast.

“Didn't I say it? I said they would end up controlling the writer.”

“Yes, you were right. I also believed in the writer's insight.”

“I felt it from the fourth episode. Ah, this is a sign of side scripts. From the fifth episode, they started live shooting with side scripts.”

Kim Sang-hee was very excited.

The resentment from KBC trying to cut the production budget still lingered deeply.

Jang Seung-won suddenly remembered and said,

“By the way, the quick collapse of 'The King's Promise' is partly due to Seo-hoon.”

“My part?”

“Jeong Seo-hoon brought in 300 billion for the production budget. I heard the rumor of this really shook the mental state of the PD of 'The King's Promise.'”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. So the PD developed a sense of inferiority, and as the ratings kept widening, he became anxious and started pressuring the writer more. The writer, suffering from writer's block, kept revising the script, and side scripts started appearing... It's like a snowball rolling down.”

To Jeong Seo-hoon, "The King's Promise" was already half-collapsed.

It didn't seem like it would recover next week.

Jeong Seo-hoon, who had taken a sip from the can and put it down, asked nonchalantly.

“'The King's Promise' has a 900 billion budget. But if the ratings stay in single digits next week, what happens in such a case?”

“If I were the CEO...”

Jang Seung-won said excitedly, as if he were about to dance.

“I would fire the vice president and end the series early at 20 episodes. That's the way to save the remaining production budget.”