Unchanging Viewership Ratings (3)
After finishing his conversation with Ma Dong-Pal, Park Doo-Shik began to give out orders to the staff.
"Sigh. Do we really have to do it this way, Mr. Park? This seems dangerous."
"Stop complaining and just do as you're told. Am I the producer here or are you?"
"Okay, fine. I get it."
Unable to resist Park Doo-Shik's order, the staff began to move with unease. After all, the producer held supreme authority on set.
AD Jung Ju-Chul received an order from Park Doo-Shik and approached us. Then he began to speak to Oh Duk-Gu, attempting to mask the unilateral directive as a polite explanation.
"So are you saying you're dismissing us right now?"
Oh Duk-Gu's face turned as red as a tomato.
"Hey, don't take it that way. You know that's not what I mean. I'm just saying that we're going to shoot according to the original script for episode 22."
"Shooting according to the original script is basically the same thing as dismissing us! Do you know how much screen time Yoo-Jin has in the original script of episode 22? She barely has any!"
"Ah, then what am I supposed to do? The producer is saying that we can't proceed with the current script! He even said he'd pay you for an additional two episodes, so can't you just cooperate with us?!"
"Do you think I'm doing this for a mere appearance fee? All of Yoo-Jin's scenes spanning two episodes are gone!"
Yoo-Jin was paid 100,000 won per episode. With a tax deduction of 3.3%, she was paid 96,700 won.
'That barely covers a day's worth of gas after splitting with the agency. I can't believe they are acting like we are doing this for money.'
People in this industry always seemed to be so thick-skinned.
Feeling that I might get caught in the crossfire if I stuck around, I headed to one side of the set. There, I found Yoo-Jin crouching on a waiting chair and looking around cautiously.
"Why are you sitting like that?"
Yoo-Jin asked as soon as she saw me.
"Yoon-Ho oppa. Is this happening because of the script changes?"
"Yeah, it's because of that."
"I'm sorry…" Yoo-Jin said with an apologetic look.
I raised my hand to stop her from apologizing and opened my mouth.
"Wait. What are you apologizing for? For acting well? For being too pretty? If being pretty were a crime, you'd be on death row."
Yoo-Jin burst into giggles when I cracked an old man's joke.
'Well, I was indeed an old man before traveling back in time.'
But these days, I was gradually adapting to being in my twenties again.
Yoo-Jin smiled for a moment, but her gloomy expression still remained on her face.
Feeling the need to console her, I looked into her eyes and said in a firm voice.
"Yoo-Jin, listen to me. Every actor tries to secure more screen time in a drama, and the fact that you secured more scenes by appealing to the writer is the result of your effort. So when you feel sorry about gaining screen time, you're essentially disregarding the efforts of talent agents like me who try to get their actors even one more scene."
"Oh…that's not what I meant…I just…"
"I know how you feel. But as a professional, you should never think that way in the future. You should always be ambitious and try your best to get even one more shot. Are you going to give up your screen time whenever other actors demand it?"
"No, of course not!"
"That's right. Now we are talking."
Yoo-Jin quickly understood my point. In reality, people employed countless sneaky tactics to snatch roles from others. Compared to them, Yoo-Jin had earned her scenes through pure talent and effort.
'She should be proud of herself for that.'
"And don't you worry. Everything will be resolved."
"But how?"
"Just trust me and wait. You'll see. Now, shall we warm up and practice your acting?"
Yoo-Jin tilted her head in wonder but started practicing as I instructed.
***
After having a conversation with the staff, Oh Duk-Gu returned to the parking lot.
"Yoo-Jin, I'm sorry to tell you this. But it looks like we're gonna have to shoot Episode 22 as per the original script. Episodes 23 and 24 have been canceled. I'm really sorry."
Oh Duk-Gu said as he bowed his head, assuming all the responsibility.
However, Yoo-Jin responded in a calm voice.
"Um, but Mr. Oh, Yoon-Ho oppa just told me to prepare for acting."
"Huh?"
Oh Duk-Gu looked at me with a puzzled look. Looking at him, I explained to him what happened while he was gone.
"I couldn't report it because you were in a conversation with the staff."
"Report what?"
I smirked and handed him my phone. Oh Duk-Gu chuckled silently.
[Kang Ji-Yung: Ms. Lee Ji-Yeon is leaving her office in Namyangju right now. Good job, Star Jung. She was furious after seeing the video you sent. Great work. I love you~.]
Lee Ji-Yeon was coming.
***
"Did she just get fired?"
"As she should. She was trying to take Eun-Bin unnie's spot. Serves her right."
"I just posted on Twitter about Eun-Bin struggling so much because of her."
The Petite Angels came to the parking lot to distribute lunch for staff and sniggered as they walked past us.
Watching them talk badly about Yoo-Jin, Oh Duk-Gu banged the dashboard in frustration inside the van.
"Ugh, those jerks…seriously!"
"Calm down, Mr. Oh."
"How do you stay calm in this situation?"
"Everything will end once Ms. Lee Ji-Yeon arrives."
Then Oh Duk-Gu took out his phone to show me a post on Twitter.
"Yeah? Then how are we going to deal with this?"
[K. Song (Kim Seung-Ae): I heard that dough face bribed the staff for her role, but she got kicked out of the set with her lack of talent. (Scene photo)]
[LIJA (Lee Jin-AH): Her acting is total trash compared to Eun-Bin's excellent acting. (Scene photo) I don't know why they would cast someone like her in the first place. How much did Hoop Entertainment pay them?]
When I saw the Twitter posts from Kim Seung-Ae and Lee Jin-Ah of Petite Angels, I immediately opened the van door on the driver's side as I couldn't hold back any longer.
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"I'm going to teach them a lesson. I'll be back soon."
"By yourself? But didn't you tell me to hold back?"
"Come on~. I know how to deal with this kind of situation on my own now. I'll tell them firmly to delete their posts."
Seeing the sudden change in my attitude, Oh Duk-Gu made a face of disbelief. I was certain Hoop Entertainment would soon intervene to have the post removed since I reported that Petite Angels had visited the site today. But I couldn't let those two bring down Yoo-Jin like this.
After stepping out of the van, I called over Kim Seung-Ae and Lee Jin-Ah who were busy counting the lunchboxes to one side of the parking lot.
Kim Seung-Ae looked at me with a salty look on her face and spoke first.
"What did you call us for? Are you hungry or something? Want a lunchbox?"
Lee Jin-Ah shook her phone and added.
"No way. Don't tell me you came to ask us to delete the tweet. What a shame that's not gonna happen."
Smiling in the face of their mockery, I opened my mouth,
"How much did the both of you steal from the gift funds collected from the Petite Angels for Park Eun-Bin?"
Their faces instantly turned to shock.
"W-what? What are you talking about?"
"W-what is this man saying?"
It was quite common for fan club leaders to collect money from members of the club for gifts and embezzle some of it. However, these two were particularly notorious.
In a few days, they would turn out to be the main culprits of an embezzlement case that I had noted down in my planner in the previous life.