The publicity department, responsible for overseeing every single Burger Queen advertisement, had rarely encountered such a situation.
It was surprising that a newly debuted actress would turn down a generous offer of 30 million won for a single advertisement.
Ahn Ji-Yoon made an irritated expression.
"Should we give them a better offer one more time?"
Despite the subtle suggestion by Team Lead Kim Yung-Min, Ahn Ji-Yoon shook her head vehemently.
"No. If they're going to be so snooty, we shouldn't contact them for a while before…"
At that moment, they noticed Intern Lee Yung-Sook, hesitating to report something because her two superiors were raising their voices.
"What is it, Miss. Yung-Sook? Do you have something to say?"
"You told me to report immediately if there were any peculiarities, so…"
"I did say that. What's so peculiar?"
"Um, please take a look at this…"
Lee Yung-Sook handed over the tablet.
[Nave Live Search Rankings]
1st Jung Yoo-Jin slap
5th Morning Takes Off viewership ratings 22%
6th Burger Queen Jung Yoo-Jin
7th Burger Queen's Burger Maiden fanclub
9th Park Eun-Bin terrible acting
10th Idol Daejun Cherry Blossom
"W-what is this? What's going on? Jung Yoo-Jin ranked 1st on the live search rankings?"
"Yes. Miss Yoo-Jin gave a good slap to Mr. Park Eun-Sung in yesterday's episode of Morning Takes Off. Here, look at the photo and the article."
[Morning Takes off, God's hand Jung Yoo-Jin!]
(Comments)
-LOL. I bet no one would survive if she was to slap that hard.
-How can Miss Yoo-Jin be so good at slapping someone like that?
-Wow…I fell in love with her.
-Yikes, you fell in love with her because she slapped someone?
-That's more like a punch than a slap. I'd faint if she slapped me.
-She is such an amazing actress.
People had turned the scene where Jung Yoo-JIn hit Park Eun-Sung into a GIF and were spreading it around the internet.
"How could this happen…"
Ahn Ji-Yoon quickly analyzed the cause of Jung Yoo-Jin going viral on the internet because it was inexplicable how a rookie had such a strong impact.
But it didn't take long before she found the reason—it was because the Burger Queen's Burger Maiden's fan club, ranked 7th in the live search rankings, had resumed their activities.
At that moment, Ahn Ji-Yoon's expression changed dramatically.
"Now I see why Hoop Entertainment was playing hard to get. With this amount of attention, it makes sense for them to be so snooty. I like it."
The employees looked bewildered at Ahn Ji-Yoon's sudden change in attitude.
Then, Assistant Manager Choi Moo-Sung exclaimed loudly.
"Ms. Ahn! We've exceeded our webpage traffic again today."
"R-really? What about the orders?"
"It increased by 17% compared to yesterday."
The startled Ahn Ji-Yoon quickly called Lee Yung-Sook over.
"Miss Yung-Sook. You've worked at a broadcasting station before, so you should be quite knowledgeable about dramas. Right?"
"Um, yes. I suppose so…?"
"I'm gonna head over to Hoop Entertainment right now. Can you come with me and assist me? You're probably more experienced in broadcasting matters. If I run into any issues, please help me out. Can you do that?"
Seeing this as an opportunity to prove herself to the chief of the publicity department, Lee Yung-Sook nodded eagerly.
"Of course, Ms. Ahn."
"Then get ready immediately. What does Miss Jung Yoo-Jin like? Can someone quickly call the store manager in Cheonho-dong and ask? We need to find out what our future Burger Queen, Miss Yoo-Jin, likes!"
Ahn Ji-Yoon's thunderous voice resonated throughout the room.
Taking the directive from his unpredictable superior, Kim Yung-Jin made the call in haste.
"Is this the manager from the Cheonho-dong branch? This is the head office publicity department."
***
I was simultaneously helping Miso with her drawing homework and watching Yoo-Jin practice her script.
"Miso, don't you think a flesh tone would be better there?"
Miso, who was about to color the Little Mermaid's face blue, paused to think for a moment before nodding.
"Hmm. Okay! After all, the Little Mermaid becomes human later…That makes sense."
"I-is that so?"
"Yes, Uncle Yoon-Ho. Fish have blue skin, but humans have flesh tones!"
'But shouldn't the Little Mermaid's face have been flesh-toned from the beginning anyway?'
I wanted to make a further comment, but decided to keep quiet.
Then, I also spoke to Yoo-Jin who was next to me looking frustrated with her script.
"Yoo-Jin, try reading that last line a bit more cheerfully."
"Yes, Uncle Yoon-Ho."
"Why are you calling me your uncle?"
"Well, just for fun. Ha ha."
Yoo-Jin giggled and went back to focusing on her script.
In the meantime, I checked my social media and let out a sigh of relief.
'I'm glad we did not immediately accept the Burger Queen's initial offer.'
As I had expected, all the entertainment news on Nave was solely about Morning Takes Off.
[Morning Takes Off Episode 22, Viewership Ratings 22.5%]
[Writer Lee Ji-Yeon delivers another hit!]
[The godmother of dramas, Lee Ji-Yeon. The top contender for this year's best drama?]
[Morning Takes Off, discovering new actress Jung Yoo-Jin.]
Thanks to Episode 22 of Morning Takes Off achieving a viewership rating of 22.5%, the entertainment news was buzzing with anticipation for the record-breaking viewership ratings.
As a result, the clip of Yoo-Jin slapping Park Eun-Sung in the face also became a hot topic.
-Look at Park Eun-Sung's face after getting slapped. He looks truly shocked.
-Despite acting alongside amazing actors Choi Eun-Yung and Park Eun-Sung, Jung Yoo-Jin didn't get overshadowed at all. Her presence is remarkable.
-Wait. Isn't she the famous Burger Queen's Burger Maiden?
-Yes, that's right. That's Jung Yoo-Jin, Cheonho-dong's Burger Queen.
There was even an article about the fan club of Cheonho-dong's Burger Maiden being active again.
Thanks to the barrage of related articles, Yoo-Jin had ranked 1st on live search rankings on Nave for four hours straight—remarkably, on Christmas.
This proved the saying that 'luck is more important than skill.'
'Of course, skill lays the foundation for a long-lasting career. But still.'
When Yoo-Jin saw that I couldn't take my eyes off my phone, she discreetly asked about her ranking.
"Oppa, what's my current ranking?"
"You're still the 1st."
"Wow. That's amazing!"
Yoo-Jin shook her head, seemingly in disbelief.
However, I couldn't fully rejoice over this good news because of a single schedule entry written in the planner.
[Everyday V10]
-7:00 PM Kangdongkyung University Hospital Funeral Hall 1F VIP Room. Jang Jun-Hyuk. Send a wreath.
Actor Jang Jun-Hyuk, who became the top star by consecutively succeeding in two major historical dramas, went independent with a one-person agency a month ago after filing a lawsuit to terminate his exclusive contract. His reason was that he hadn't taken a single break in the ten years since his debut, due to an overly intense schedule forced upon him by the former agency.
However, perhaps due to accumulated fatigue, he would suddenly die from a heart attack while driving. Being a rare genuine individual in an entertainment industry filled with duplicitous people, everyone attending his funeral would sincerely mourn his passing.
Soon, at around 3:30 PM, he would meet his fate on Cheonho bridge. The current time was 2:30 PM and there was only about an hour left before the incident.
I hesitated for a moment but eventually decided I had to save him. There was no reason to turn a blind eye to someone I could save, especially since it wasn't even about preventing a terror act of some sort.
With determination, I stood up from my seat.
"There's no other schedule for today and tomorrow, so take a good rest at home. I'll pick you up at 11 o'clock the day after tomorrow. Prepare well for the audition."
Yoo-Jin and Miso saw me off with a longing look.
"Okay, oppa. Drive safely."
"Bye~ Uncle Yoon-Ho~!"
I bade farewell to the two and drove towards Cheonho bridge to save Jang Jun-Hyuk.