Let’s rewind time slightly, to the day when Baek Siu’s next project was decided.
To discuss future matters, Heavenly Yuah and Moon Suyeon engaged in a one-on-one conversation.
“Siwoo said this… that I am the prettiest actress in Korea.”
“…What? Did Siwoo really say that?”
“Yes, I have no reason to lie, don’t I?”
No, correction.
Heavenly Yuah had called Moon Suyeon for consultation but was actually launching a jab attack on her.
“Hmph, well, if limited to actresses, that might be true. But if he’d been asked about singers, he would have definitely said me.”
“You’re an actress too, Suyeon.”
“Actress is my side job. My essence is a singer.”
But Moon Suyeon was strong.
Despite looking slightly shocked for a moment, she recovered and argued that she was a singer, finding comfort in her own logic.
“So, you just came here without giving it a second thought?”
“Actually, he’s kind of cute when he says I look pretty.”
“It seems you don’t even try to hide it anymore, Yuah-ssi.”
“Considering you, Suyeon-ssi, didn’t hide it from the start, I don’t see the problem.”
“Alright, moving on – so, you’re just going to sit back and watch Siwu go solo into a project?”
“No way. But if I interfered recklessly, it might backfire. We need him to change his mind.”
“…So, what? The conclusion is?”
But that lasted only for a moment.
They were back to the main topic now.
The reason Heavenly Yuah had called Moon Suyeon wasn’t just for boasting.
Both had the same goal – to get into Baek Siu’s next project for their own gain.
Although there was a brief conflict because their preferred projects differed, in a situation where everything was reset, they were perfectly capable of joining hands.
They generally respected each other.
Specifically, if Heavenly Yuah’s plan were to succeed, Moon Suyeon’s cooperation was essential.
“I… I’m going to do it.”
“Really? Are you sure you want to do that?”
“Yes. Siwu says he wants to stand on his own.”
“…Right. Standing on his own.”
“So, I need to teach him how warm it was working with me on set.”
“Hmm…”
“Isn’t there a saying? Leaving home brings suffering. It seems so very true.”
Moon Suyeon had never once thought of herself as a good person.
But, looking at others here, she realized she was practically a ray of light, a goddess.
How could these people come up with such devilish schemes?
Still, she herself was rather upset about this.
What on earth is “Dark Shaman” missing that makes him reject such an opportunity? To legally indulge in the body of the supreme dignity of the music industry, a beauty of her caliber, was being refused.
Therefore, Moon Suyeon decided to join Heavenly Yuah’s plan.
Of course, she would benefit from it too.
“But even if we do it this way, there won’t be much to gain, will there?”
“There is. We can aim for the next-next project.”
“We need some solid promise.”
“Then let’s go this way.”
“Ah, that sounds good. We can secure a promise for the next-next project.”
After confirming Heavenly Yuah’s plan, Moon Suyeon wanted to be sure of its viability.
No matter how good the strategy, if the ending is strange, there would be nothing to gain.
“But are we sure about the chances of success?”
“Isn’t it ‘Restaurant Promo’ where Lee Hyerin and Yoon Yeonhee are supposed to be leads? That project can’t possibly run smoothly. Siwu must see by now that ‘Yuah and Suyeon are goddesses.’”
“But we do have something too, don’t we?”
“That’s why they hesitate.”
“I can deal with that.”
“And then there’s Writer Oh Kyuyoung. She may not be a bad writer but is weak under pressure and swayed easily. She tends to write scene changes excessively, which makes her lack firmness.”
“Indeed… the project is destined to fail.”
“Previous failed projects usually went down the same way.”
So, it’s almost certain.
If there’s an exception here, it’d be that Heavenly Yuah is excessively powerful, but that is something to overcome with skill.
So far, it’s been her alone, but this time, adorable Miju and Writer Yang are joining her, making it worth trying.
“But won’t the side with two leading actresses cause an issue? Besides, it’s a romance genre.”
“That is an issue to some extent, but I don’t think Siwu will cause trouble. If it was that easy, I wouldn’t have concerns, right?”
“…You’re right.”
“And, above all, both women already have boyfriends.”
“That’s… good.”
After confirming the last risky factor, the two finalized their plan.
They firmly shook hands.
Despite being rivals, they were not too hostile and wanted this competition to be relatively fair.
Considering the possibility of another woman interfering, it was essential to collaborate.
“It’s fair play until the results come out.”
“…That’s actually what I wanted to say, but Yuah-ssi, this isn’t fair play.”
“Eh? How is this unfair?”
“You didn’t inform the company about something that should’ve been shared. About the two actresses working with Siwoo-ssi.”
“Ah, that’s not true. The company doesn’t know. This is something I personally found out.”
“…Is that so?”
“I was going to remove one actress as part of my proposal, but Siwu cut me off right away. He wants to stand on his own. So, I simply nodded.”
“Siwoo-ssi made a mistake… didn’t he?”
“Yes. Still, it won’t harm the project’s fate, it’ll just give him a lot of headaches.”
Moon Suyeon thought:
Indeed, this woman is dangerous. Her thinking is somehow risky, and she had even planned to kidnap(?) Baek Siu to Hollywood. She was ruthless like that.
No matter how beautiful and how much she owns, if her character is flawed, it’s all useless.
She firmly believed that Baek Siu would be better suited to someone as honest as her.
Heavenly Yuah still remembered.
The dangerous script Moon Suyeon had presented.
Goodness, “Dark Shaman”? Such a horrifying film should not exist.
To imagine her and Baek Siu being cast in such a thing made her shiver.
She believed the modest and elegant her was better suited for Baek Siu.
“Alright.”
“Alright.”
The two women smiled at each other.
Each was confident that, in the end, the one smiling would be herself.
-Popular idol, Tae-kyu from H-Finch. Joins SBC’s Monday-Tuesday mini series, Restaurant Promo*.
Our drama is joined by a new actor.
Tae-kyu, the main dancer of the idol group H-Finch.
H-Finch is a popular idol group in its fifth year since debut.
As it’s a large entertainment company, TS Entertainment.
Once an idol reaches this point, it’s time to start preparing for the future, and it seems Tae-kyu is considering transitioning into acting.
“Hyun-ho hyung, do you know Tae-kyu from H-Finch?”
“H-Finch… they’re the boys group from TS, right? But I don’t really know much about Tae-kyu.”
“Is that so?”
“Seems like his acting career is nonexistent. This is his first role, by the way.”
“First role…”
While actors often don’t like idols who dabble in acting, I personally have no strong feelings either way.
As long as they focus well on their acting, I don’t care if they’re an idol or a comedian.
Additionally, having a popular idol in the drama can bring some benefits in terms of ratings, even if nowadays die-hard fans might not watch live.
Still, if their presence ensures some form of viewership—be it live or reruns—there’s no real loss. Even if fans support just to cheer on their idol, it could be quite advantageous.
“Anyway, as long as he’s good at acting…”
“Hmm, might this be a bit much to ask?”
“We’ve got Lion and Ji Seo-eun from Esshblm. She’s quite good.”
“That’s an exception, right? Actors dislike idols not just because they appear braggarts, but there are more practical reasons.”
“Well, with TS, they are a major company. So they must prepare their idols well.”
“Perhaps. With their scale, they can just throw idols into roles. They also likely invest in productions to secure such roles easily.”
“No way.”
I don’t expect him to perform like Lion or Ji Seo-eun, but I hope for the basics.
Acting alongside someone whose skills are subpar can be very dispiriting.
If he’s bad, can’t the PDs find a way to handle it? We all know even PDs at broadcasting stations care about results too.
“Anyways, why are you so relaxed?”
“What do you mean?”
“This is your second role, isn’t it? If this flops, you’ll get demoted. You’re taking this much too lightly.”
“Don’t Hyun-ho hyung and others also collapse once their second role fails?”
“That was me, sure…”
“But I feel I’ve reached a level where I’m fine. No need to rush myself.”
“Well, you crazy ones are different. Even I was super nervous back then.”
“Maybe it’s about understanding the long term. Acting isn’t something you do for a day or two.”
I don’t dwell too much on ratings.
Being good is nice, but bad ratings? So what?
Anyway, terrestrial ratings have limits these days and rarely spike crazily like in the past, so there’s no point stressing.
In any case, this drama is more about pleasing my father and making him happy. With Writer Oh, it can still generate reasonable ratings even if it’s not overly successful. Even if this fails, if I perform well, I can still get another opportunity.
“An actor shining in a failed drama” is not that uncommon.
The actor in front of me, Nam Hyun-ho, has survived like this.
Good-looking actors who can act, tend to survive after their breakout roles.
Good-looking actors who fail aren’t typically due to skill, but because they haven’t found that one breakout role.
For me, “Gold Rush Joseon” became that breakout drama. No need to panic yet.
The competition is TVA’s “KTD.”
“Right.”
Since it’s such a cliché subject matter, worrying about it is unnecessary.
Our drama’s competitor in the same timeslot is TVA’s “Kill the Drug.”
Set against a regional drug task force investigating a cartel, it’s another familiar theme with little to really distinguish it.
Another terrestrial channel, MBS, had a planned project that failed suddenly and is now searching for a replacement. Backup drama slots rarely succeed, so our lineup looks pretty stable.
Or so I thought.
Until it was announced that Heavenly Yuah was joining “Kill the Drug.”
“KTD” has announced Heavenly Yuah as the female lead.
“Kill the Drug” – Dark Horse for the Year-end Monday-Tuesday Drama with the casting of Heavenly Yuah and Yoon Ju-won.
“…What is happening?”
Before hearing this news.
