After shooting a few scenes in succession, I got a day off.
Even though my scenes had increased, they were still incomparable to the level of the three main characters, and since there were hardly any NGs, the filming proceeded quickly.
In my case, especially, I had to commute by Director Jo’s car up until a certain time period, so it was common for my shooting schedules to cluster on the same days.
This meant that when I finished shooting in a day, the next day would be a holiday.
“Son!”
For once, it was a holiday, so I decided to help out at my father’s shop.
It was to help my parents as much as I could.
To tell the truth, I didn’t particularly enjoy coming to my father’s shop in the past.
It was tiresome and bothersome, and I wasn’t even getting paid.
Thinking back now, I was quite immature back then.
Just the fact that we could spend time together should have been enough to make me happy.
Moreover, this wouldn’t last much longer.
Once I make a proper debut, it wouldn’t be easy for me to casually visit my father’s shop like this.
Since my father’s shop is a small one, having too many customers might actually be counterproductive.
Given my father’s nature, he wouldn’t deliberately seek out those kinds of advertising effects.
So, it was quite natural for me not to reveal that I have a father who runs a small shop.
If I’m going to keep that secret, it goes without saying that I shouldn’t visit the shop either.
“How’s business going?”
“Eh, it’s just a neighborhood business, you know.”
Our father’s fried chicken restaurant, Chicken 白家 (Chicken Baekga), is a typical market-style chicken shop.
It’s not a franchise, so we have some price advantages, but since all operations fall on my father as the owner, the side tasks are numerous, making it unnecessarily hectic.
Plus, in terms of brand recognition, we’re at a clear disadvantage.
People rarely visit a chicken shop just to eat a chicken—they find it inconvenient, so they simply order from the nearby franchises.
Though, with the recent trend, franchise chicken shops have become quite expensive, so our store has enough potential to compete fairly in the market these days.
“Oh, the older son from the chicken shop.”
“You look just like your dad, tall and handsome.”
“Oh, does he? Haha.”
“Hello.”
The three tables, all occupied, had been taken over by the ‘Hiking Couples Union’.
Our store was a typical neighborhood shop, and here, small gatherings like this often took place. In particular, the Hiking Couples Union were important regular customers who supported our store’s sales.
If it weren’t for them, our shop’s situation would have been even more grim.
Even I knew the group gathered today.
Because they were such regulars, they had been promoted from customers to friends, and the best evidence was that our mother was also sitting with them.
Since my father was free, he would often mingle and chat with them, losing himself in idle chatter. So, I thought I might handle the evening’s orders while giving my father a break.
“Hmm? You?”
“Yes, so today, talk among your friends.”
“Hmm… I don’t know about that…”
“Come on, it’s not like you’re going far. If you get busy, just say so.”
“Well… Alright then?”
After deciding to properly serve my father for the first time in a while by sending him to the customers’ table, I started frying the chicken as orders came in.
Frying the chicken wasn’t really a challenging task anyway.
Father had already done all the preparation, and our store’s menu, for now, consists of only fried chicken.
There’s nothing complicated—just put it in on time, take it out on time. There’s no room for problems.
It’s not the kind of highly sought-after spot where orders pile up like crazy.
Just fry the chicken while using the adults’ chatter as background noise while waiting for the next customer.
“Oh, that show is popular recently, right? Yoon Seo-eun.”
“Yes, I’m watching every episode.”
“Well, if you look closely, there’s not much content, but there’s something captivating about it.”
“That’s right, it’s because of the young, good-looking cast—Director Jo Yoo-shin and Producer Lion.”
“That’s right, right.”
“But there’s no chemistry building. I wish Seo-eun would bond with Director Jo.”
“Eh, Director Jo? Nah, Producer Lion suits her better.”
“But there’s no sign of anything blossoming between them.”
“Bah, if they waste their time on love affairs, it’ll affect their work.”
“These days, things work out on their own anyway; it’s the ones who can’t get it together who are the fools.”
“What? Are you implying that my son is the one who hasn’t been successful? Let me tell you…”
“Yes, yes, he hasn’t dated, not that he couldn’t. Who says otherwise?”
Though at the end, the conversation took a strange turn, it seemed that even among the ajummas, the ‘genius copywriter Yoon Seo-eun’ was quite popular.
The affinity for co-protagonists Lion and Jo Yoo-shin was also fairly high.
Well, they both were tall and good-looking.
It seemed that the middle-aged audience, accustomed to K-dramas, was growing a little impatient due to the lack of a romance storyline.
But what could we do? There wouldn’t be any romance no matter how long we waited, would there?
Would the response have been better if the initial plan to include a romance between Seo-eun and Lion had gone forward?
On the other hand, there were also positive reviews from the younger generation, who appreciated the cleaner progression without romance. In conclusion, it seems neither could be definitively called the right choice.
“Hey! Look, that elder is appearing.”
“Ah, Mr. Yoon.”
“Actually, I called my dad right after watching that.”
“You too? Me too.”
“It reminded me of my grandfather. He used to look at me exactly like that.”
“Well, how many other people remind you of your grandfather? Pure love, you know.”
“My grandfather was just like that—very dignified and good-looking.”
“Well, even so, I doubt your grandfather looked that good—it’s all nostalgia kicking in.”
“No, I’m serious. He really was.”
Just then, the rerun of our drama aired, showing the scene where Elder Yoon and Yoon Seo-eun were talking in the park.
Seeing Elder Yoon’s warm gaze embracing Yoon Seo-eun reminded the customers of their fathers or grandfathers, leading them to quietly discuss their thoughts.
Though I wondered if my acting had really been that good, I felt satisfied at this sight.
“Ah, I heard this rumor. Isn’t this actor actually not an elder?”
“What? What kind of talk is that?”
“My daughter told me, and it seems the internet is rife with rumors. It’s all makeup; the real person inside is in their 20s.”
“Pfft. That’s ridiculous. Anybody can see he’s in his 70s.”
“Well, these days makeup techniques have advanced to a point where a 20-year-old can look like a 70-year-old.”
“True… This elder looks way too dignified, doesn’t he?”
“There are plenty of well-maintained elders, right? If they keep pumping even after aging, they can reach this level.”
While frying chicken, I paused to listen to this interesting conversation.
It seemed that Director Yoo has been planting some teasers here and there, and rumors about Elder Yoon’s true identity are already spreading online.
Director Yoo preferred that the journalists and netizens figured this out on their own rather than revealing it officially through the production team.
This way, it’s more impactful and more effective.
And the current phase is just a rumor, a so-called insider story, that’s spreading this way. As these rumors gain traction, people will become more curious, and there will be more focused investigative pieces.
At that stage, we will relax the confidentiality agreement, release the photos we’ve taken beforehand, and allow journalists to chase after the story, eventually ‘revealingly reluctantly’ disclosing the truth.
In short, despite being an interesting person, Director Yoo was doing things quite cleverly.
“Eh, is the elder’s name White Siu? White Siu in their 20s? Is that your son?”
“Is that even possible?”
“That’s right. That’s absurd.”
As rumors about Elder Yoon’s true identity circulated, my father, who had been observing silently, stepped in to settle the matter.
Reiterating how absurd it was to believe that Elder Yoon was actually in his 20s.
Now, everyone laughed it off, but when the prediction eventually turns out to be true, it would be quite a spectacle, wouldn’t it?
Just imagining my father’s expression at that time made it hard to suppress my laughter.
“Son, you’ve worked hard.”
“Eh, it’s fine. But there’s more work than I thought.”
“Haha, that’s how running a business goes. But today was relatively slow.”
On the way back after finishing closing up the store, my father patted my shoulder and praised me for my hard work.
Though I said everything was fine, it was more tiring than expected.
I’d underestimated the work involved in running a small chicken shop.
If this was relatively slow compared to usual, it was impressive to think what struggles my father must have gone through.
Thinking about it, it seemed best if my father’s chicken shop remained at its current size.
Being able to chat with regulars while running the shop casually and happily suited the situation perfectly. Becoming busier wouldn’t really offer additional benefits at this point.
Now that I make money, there’s no real need to make it more stressful.
With that resolution, I returned home with my father.
*
The bloodline relationship between Elder Yoon and Yoon Seo-eun, originally planned to be revealed in the later part of the drama, now being disclosed early, changed the direction of my performance.
What was previously just a role of consoling internal issues turned into an assistant who directly solved problems outside the company.
Although it felt a bit too mild compared to the fierce impression Elder Yoon initially gave, quietly acquiring shares, meeting major shareholders to win them over, and subtly applying pressure during business negotiations were typical scenes.
I thought the atmosphere was heading toward Elder Yoon secretly hiring a hitman to personally assault all the corrupt figures inside Planet, but apparently, even for Writer Min, it was quite a stretch.
“This would have gone that direction if it were a noir or action drama. Already, the scene where Elder Yoon sneaks into Yoon Seo-eun’s house to confirm their bloodline connection feels pretty dramatic, to say the least…”
By the way, I once questioned the writer if it was really necessary to have a scene where Elder Yoon sends someone to break into Yoon Seo-eun’s house to confirm their bloodline relationship.
Why not just do a genetic test? I asked.
Apparently, grandfather and granddaughter can’t have their bloodline confirmed through a DNA test. Because of this, there was consideration to cast a veteran actress as Elder Yoon.
It turned out there were no available veteran actresses who visually matched Yoon Seo-eun, so they settled on casting a grandfather role and subsequently altered the script. There wasn’t much room for argument after hearing such detailed background information.
Such obscure details are information I wouldn’t have had, but it seems that even writers have to conduct thorough research.
Afterwards, even though Elder Yoon’s role had been expanded, I still felt like I was somewhat separated from the main storyline.
It was like shooting another project alone.
While the main characters were based within the corporate structure of Planet, making this drama an office-based production, my part was more along the lines of a corporate setting since my tasks mainly included acquiring stakes and meeting people.
At least Elder Yoon wasn’t an over-the-top gangster grandpa, so the gap wasn’t too large, but it was undeniably a different genre from the rest, and that left me a bit confused.
Was this how the drama was originally supposed to unfold?
I vaguely remembered the ratings, but the plot has gotten somewhat blurry, so I couldn’t confirm if this was the correct direction.
Of course, I was personally satisfied as it gave me a chance to show diverse performances, but I still wondered if this was the right path.
Meanwhile, the viewership ratings held strong.
In episodes three and four, the viewership increased slightly, hitting 14%.
Elder Yoon’s character also gained favorable reactions, earning endearing nicknames like “Sweet Grampa” or “Cool Grampa.”
The audience appreciated the striking contrast of Elder Yoon being sweet in front of the protagonist but cold and menacing toward others.
And in the midst of all this, I finally worked with leading actors other than Ji Seo-eun.
