小火星

“······20.3%??!!”

Everyone at the BBQ restaurant was agape at the words of PD Song Man-woo, who was smiling faintly. Well, it was a figure worth gaping at.

“Is, is it for real?”

“PD, don’t joke around!”

“Really, 20.3%??!”

At the staff’s outbursts, PD Song Man-woo gave a thumbs up.

“Yes, 20.3%”

Dozens of staff and actors jumped up and cheered. It seemed like an exaggerated response, but the exhilaration was palpable.

“Wooooah!!”

“Crazy! It exceeded 20%?!”

“Let’s toast, cheers!!”

“Totally awesome! It’s going to be chaos tomorrow, right?!”

“Hey hey! Let’s eat and drink till we drop today!!”

With people hugging each other and jumping up and down in joy, the second floor of the BBQ restaurant quickly turned into a club-like atmosphere. Everyone was relieved. All the hard work and struggles they went through seemed to vanish in that moment.

Madness.

The staff shared their excitement by pouring and drinking alcohol, and the actors also imagined each other’s bright future and resonated. The managers of the actors were busy making calls somewhere. Meanwhile, the assistant director ran down to the first floor to share the crazy news.

And as if passing the baton,

“The ratings, how much did we get??!”

Choi Sung-gun who was on the first floor, rushed upstairs. Behind him were the other actor’s managers. Choi Sung-gun, who heard the ratings,

“······Haha. 20%?”

looked a little crazy. It was a rating he couldn’t have imagined. At this, PD Song Man-woo handed a soju glass to Choi Sung-gun with a smile.

“It’s been- about 3 years since a drama got 20% viewer ratings.”

“But… hasn’t it been almost non-existent for the first episode to hit 20%?”

“That’s not just a record. No, It’s become history. Our drama, including all the broadcasting companies, was promoted to an unprecedented level, and the media also played a big part in pulling the viewers by saying it’s a drama war and whatnot. The viewers after checking out other dramas, settled on ours, right?”

While PD Song Man-woo was explaining to the dazed Choi Sung-gun and toasting with him, he also explained to the entire staff.

“But this is not the final overall rating but a mid-run rating, so it may vary a bit from final. But it will be roughly similar.”

PD Song Man-woo patted Kang Woojin’s shoulder, who was sitting quietly.

“Because Park Dae-ri in the second half really tightened the tension. So, the drop in viewer rating would have been less. It might even be higher.”

Soon, the staff praised Kang Woojin, who was sitting quietly.

“Wow- Park Dae-ri! Park Dae-ri!”

“Definitely! Park Dae-ri’s impact was incredible!”

“Woojin! Aren’t you too calm??! Haha!”

Kang Woojin, however, seemed somewhat indifferent. Why? Because he was so shocked that his mind had stopped functioning.

‘Crazy. 20%? It exceeded 20%?’

Even if he didn’t know the exact dynamics of the entertainment industry, Kang Woojin knew that a drama rating of 20% was a big deal. He had seen several times before when a hit drama caused a nationwide sensation. In fact, in the current broadcasting industry, surpassing 10% was considered a high rating. But this was twice that.

‘20%… How many people actually watched it??’

Just thinking of the result made him feel tremendous. Woojin suddenly remembered the void space.

-[2/Script(Title: Profiler Hanryang Part 1), S-Class]

‘S-Class! Wow- S-Class is crazy.’

Moreover, it was just the first episode of the drama. In other words, the impact of S-Class was just beginning. At this moment, some of the staff, who had been continuously causing a ruckus, suddenly pointed at Kang Woojin.

“Ah! Come to think of it, Woojin started with a really good filmography, right??!”

“Oh, yeah! His filmography is killer! From winning the grand prize at the short film festival to a 20% viewership for his first drama??!”

“Wow, that’s right! Woojin won the bet! He guessed exactly right, 20%!”

“Wow, really??!”

At this moment.

‘Ah.’

In the midst of the staff’s praise, PD Song Man-woo, who was watching Kang Woojin, realized something.

‘He got exactly 20%?’

It was about the bet on viewer rating made before the drama started. Thinking about it, Kang Woojin had said,

‘I’ll bet 50,000 on 20%.’

He had muttered in a very low tone about 20%. And now it hit exactly right. Thanks to this, PD Song Man-woo narrowed his eyes slightly and murmured.

“···Rather than being a totem, this is more like predicting the future.”

It was eerie enough with just his sharp intuition and unusual sense, but he also got the exact percentage right? PD Song Man-woo was wondering if Kang Woojin was really human. If he was, could he possibly be a secretary to a god?

Of course, that was not the case.

In this bet, Woojin had simply made a random guess. He hadn’t even used the power of his void space. In a way, it was purely Kang Woojin’s power. He just went with the flow. However, PD Song Man-woo was serious.

In addition,

-Swish.

Writer Park Eun-mi once again held Kang Woojin’s hand and closed her eyes.

“Thank you, thank you.”

Expressing gratitude to the totem. Kang Woojin decided to just let it go this time as well. Honestly, reacting was a bit of a hassle. Approximately 500,000 won, built up from betting, was transferred to Woojin.

“Park Dae-ri wins! Here’s your reward!”

Although misunderstandings were piling up in real-time.

“Yay, free money.”

For now, Kang Woojin was just happy without thinking much.

Afterwards.

Around midnight, Kang Woojin was heading home in the van. Even at this moment, his phone was continuously receiving messages and chats.

-Brrrr, Brrrrrr.

‘So many messages.’

Messages from ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’ star director Shin Dong-chun, director Kwon Ki-taek, family, close friends, acquaintances, and so on, were piling up in real-time.

The interesting thing was.

‘Why is this person suddenly sending messages and making a fuss?’

People he had forgotten about were also sending messages. It wasn’t that many yet, but more than five people had already contacted him.

-Kim Ah Jung: Woojin~ Long time no see. Are you acting now? Is it you who appeared in the drama?

-Park Ji Jae: Kang Woojin! You appeared in a drama? Did you start acting??

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Confused, Kang Woojin lightly ignored the messages. There was no particular meaning. For now, he had to respond only to work-related messages. There were Choi Sung-gun and the team in the van, so it would be better to contact family or close friends later.

At that point.

“Wow-”

Han Ye-jung sitting on Woojin’s right, interjected in a cool tone.

“Articles are pouring out every second on all three portal sites.”

Indeed, as Han Ye-jung said, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ articles were being generated every second.

『[Drama Pick] ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Storms From the First Episode』

Strictly speaking, it had started during the broadcast, and the media’s choice was ‘Profiler Hanryang’. Among the dramas that joined the drama war, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ stood out.

『’Profiler Hanryang’ Shows Overwhelming Quality Among Three Broadcasting Stations Engaged in ‘Drama War’』

『[Issue Pick] Ryu Jung Min, Hong Hye Yeon, and Others’ Flawless Acting Brought Immersion… ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Storm Forecast』

In addition, the media also had a pipeline to know ratings. In other words, everyone roughly knew that Hanryang was a hit.

『’Profiler Hanryang’ Real-time Mid-Run Ratings Exceeded 20%』

What’s special is.

『Who is Kang Woojin, the actor playing ‘Park Dae-ri’? Turns out, he’s a newcomer who won the acting award at the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’』

Among the articles, Kang Woojin’s name was mentioned quite often. He’s an actor with a story. Plus, the impact of Park Dae-ri in the later part of Hanryang was strong.

『[Photo] ‘Rookie Actor Kang Woojin’s Scene stealer performance is worthy of Writer Park Eun-mi’s praise / Photo』

However, the situation was different now. It was just a reaction of about 2 hours after the drama ended. A silent, massive storm was approaching from afar. The real power of that storm would probably show from tomorrow when public opinion joins in.

Such public opinion was already half crazed.

-Wow, seriously lol. It was so fun, I spent an hour without realizing it.

-I’ve chosen Hanryang.

-Totally legendary, I knew there would be a lot of comments.

-What is this immersion from the first episode?!

Just by looking at the talk board set up on the official homepage of ‘Profiler Hanryang’, it was like that. The number of posts made by viewers already exceeded 10,000.

Really, an additional 100 more would be added in the blink of an eye.

Usually, when a new drama starts, the maximum number of comments on the talk board would be around 1000. But there were more than 10 times that number of real-time comments being posted every second.

-Definitely… gathering only veteran actors improves the quality of the drama, the acting in the drama next door on MBS is full of holes.

-Kang Woojin? Does he not have any previous works? I can’t find any.

-I peed myself when Park Dae-ri appeared at the end.

-Ah… But Ryu Jung Min is too handsome. ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ

-Kang Woojin? Despite being a newcomer, his acting gave me goosebumps

-Yo, I thought I was watching a movie lol

-The dialogue and progress are definitely Park Eunmi-like, but it’s super fun.

-The tension rose sharply after Park Dae-ri appeared at the end. A real scene stealer!

Of course, Kang Woojin’s name appeared quite a lot.

This atmosphere continued to swell past midnight and into the dawn of the 16th. It spread rapidly across the country, through the media and public opinion, from the internet to the internet, from cell phone to cell phone, from finger to finger¹.

Lastly, by word of mouth as well.

Surely, the impact of a 20% viewership was not small. Then, on the morning of the 16th, the ‘Profiler Hanryang’ team announced the official consolidated total viewer rating for episode 1.

『[Rankings] ‘Profiler Hanryang’ hits it big from the first episode, official viewer rating 20.5%』

『Record-breaking performance, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ starts with a legendary viewer rating of 20.5%”』

Indeed, it was a figure exceeding 20%. This was the trigger.

No, actually, people were already talking about ‘Profiler Hanryang’ all over the country. On the morning of the 16th, the entertainment news section of famous portal sites was filled with ‘Profiler Hanryang’. Other dramas appeared occasionally, but Hanryang was overwhelming.

And also, on the radios inside the countless cars on the road.

“Shall we start with a drama for the first issue? ‘Profiler Hanryang’! Did you watch it?”

“No- I haven’t seen it, but my mom said she did. The first episode ratings exceeded 20%, right?”

“That’s right, I heard it was a record. I watched it, you know? The acting was phenomenal. Oh, I was particularly impressed by the actor playing the psychopath.”

“Hmm? Who is it?”

“I looked it up, and it’s actor Kang Woojin, he also won an acting grand prize at the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’ this time.”

In the subway and on buses, most of the citizens were looking at ‘Profiler Hanryang’ related content on their mobile phones. Whether they watched the drama yesterday or not did not matter. Of course, they had to. The talk about ‘Profiler Hanryang’ had already spread to a considerable number of areas.

Search, blogs, cafes, news articles, and so on.

Massive level of mentions. Everyone noticed it. They realized that this drama is going to explode. The same logic as supply increases when there is demand.

Around lunchtime,

-The first episode ratings exceeded 20% of the blockbuster drama ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Episode 1 review!!｜NuclearMovieTV

Videos of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ dominated the YouTube real-time ranking. Whether it was the official videos from the Hanryang team or edited videos from review or other YouTubers, the view count soared.

Among them,

-[Special] A real scene-stealer! A collection of crazy scenes of Park Dae-ri!!!｜Profiler Hanryang

There was a compilation video of ‘Park Dae-ri’ uploaded by the Hanyang team itself. Although it was short, the comments were endlessly posted.

-Seemed like a rookie actor but the acting was amazing….it gave me chills.

-Look at the eyes at 3:14! They even appeared in my dreams

-I memorized the name Kang Woojin lol I support you.

-hahahaha It’s shocking that this is Kang Woojin’s first drama hahaha he totally carried the acting.

-Park Dae-ri’s facial acting… I was blown away…

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Of course, it was not only online. Offline, ‘Profiler Hanryang’ was being talked about in many places as well.

“Wow- I heard that the drama starring Ryu Jung-min exceeded a 20% viewer rating?”

“Ah! I saw it! I started from the middle, but it was fun! The actors’ acting was amazing!”

Offices, cafes, restaurants, and so on. It was similar everywhere people could meet and talk. Thanks to this, the recognition of ‘Profiler Hanryang’ became even more solid. Interest was overflowing.

In just one day. Of course, even at this moment,

-Ah…shit! When will it be 10 o’clock!!ㅠㅠㅠI want to see it fastㅠㅜㅜㅠㅠ!

Word of mouth was spreading at the speed of light.

On the night of the 16th,

The 16th day, when ‘Profiler Hanryang’ swept the nation, had already passed. The time was around 9:30 pm. The world was still bustling with ‘Profiler Hanryang’.

Meanwhile, Kang Woojin was at his agency, bw Entertainment.

He was sitting at a desk in the center of the CEO’s office. Woojin was a little tired. Because he had spent a busy day. Choi Sung-gun, Han Ye-jung, and Jang Su-hwan were sitting around him. In other words, the Kang Woojin team was gathered in one place.

This was a stark contrast to yesterday’s dinner with over a hundred people.

Of course, the four of them were watching TV. The channel was SBC. What else would it be for? They were all waiting to watch ‘Profiler Hanryang’ Episode 2. Hong Hye-yeon was not present, perhaps due to her schedule.

And then,

“Woojin Brother! Fried? Or Spicy?”

The bulky Jang Su-hwan was setting up the chicken he had ordered on the table. Thanks to him, the CEO’s office was filled with the smell of chicken. Soon, Kang Woojin, who was pouring beer, answered sternly.

“Fried.”

“Ah! Brother, you like fried chicken?!” (Jang Su-hwan)

Han Ye-jung, who seemed to be ready to eat, chimed in.

“I prefer spicy. I like the stickiness.” (Han Ye-jung)

Expressionless Kang Woojin chuckled internally.

‘Sticky? She has a bit of a peculiar character. But spicy is also delicious.’

Han Ye-jung, who picked up a chicken wing, seemed to remember something and said to Kang Woojin.

“Ah, bro, I uploaded 5 photos on your SNS during the day. I just remembered because it’s been hectic.”

SNS? Oh right. Kang Woojin also remembered now. On the first airing day of ‘Profiler Hanryang’, at Choi Sung-gun’s request, he created a SNS account that he never had before.

‘It was the basics of basics, right? But what picture did she upload?’

Kang Woojin, who had never used SNS in his life, asked Han Ye-jung in a low voice.

“What pictures?”

“Well, bro you look great. So, I asked the promotions team to upload a few profile pictures and photos from the ‘Mise-en-scène Film Festival’. And one from the BBQ restaurant yesterday.”

At that moment,

“Ah! It’s starting!”

‘Profiler Hanryang’ Episode 2 started on TV. Soon, all members of the Kang Woojin team turned their gazes to the TV while drinking their beers. At the same time, Choi Sung-gun exclaimed.

“Park Dae-ri’s screen time increases a lot from Episode 2, right?!”

It was true. The real value of Park Dae-ri is demonstrated from Episode 2. No matter what, poker-faced Kang Woojin also looked at the TV. The first scene showed Yu Ji-hyeong.

‘Once today is over, tomorrow will be even crazier, right? Wow- shit.’

How much more commotion will there be? Kang Woojin thought that his life yesterday and today was a turning point. By tomorrow, that snowball effect was expected to grow several times larger.

At this moment.

– Brrr Brrr.

Kang Woojin’s phone on the desk vibrated. A message had arrived. Since yesterday, his phone had been ringing non-stop, so Woojin intended to ignore it. But Kang Woojin still checked briefly.

‘Huh? It’s from Hong Hye-yeon.’

The person who sent the message was Hong Hye Yeon. The content was not very long.

-Hong Hye Yeon: I just followed you on SNS. Did you know that a lot of followers flocked in?

Kang Woojin immediately tilted his head because of unfamiliar words like follow and follower. Then, he opened the SNS he first started two days ago. In no time, his account appeared before Woojin.

@Wooji_n

Posts 5

Followers 31k

Following 0

In just a day, 31,000 people had flocked.

*****

TL Notes:

1) Finger to finger is used here metaphorically to represent people to people (via the internet, using fingers to type). Hopefully that explains it.

2) ㅠ: Crying Emoji

*****