WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Potter

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Why Do My Dramas Keep Becoming Hits!? ◈

Chapter 24: First Broadcast (2)

──────

The entertainment department's main editing room was dark.

Lit only by monitor screens, Yoon Dong-woo sat there snickering as he looked at his phone.

The group chat with his friends was especially active today.

[Kim Tae-won: Hey, Dong-woo. Isn't your drama airing today?]

[Park Su-ho: Oh, today's the day? What time is it on?]

Yoon Dong-woo, who had only been lurking in the chat, smirked and typed.

[Yoon Dong-woo: I'm in the entertainment department lol. What does a drama have to do with me?]

[Kim Tae-won: Oh, they're different?]

[Lee Min-ho: Still, aren't they the same network? Don't you get anything if the drama does well?]

[Yoon Dong-woo: Like I would;;;]

[Yoon Dong-woo: Besides, that drama belongs to someone else lol]

The instant he pressed send, someone called.

It was Ji Yeon-woo.

Having expected that name, Yoon Dong-woo snickered as he answered.

"Hey, you crazy bastard. You wanna die?"

"Heh heh. Relax, asshole. I haven't told anyone yet."

"Seriously, don't. Don't even give them hints."

Even their friends, who normally had no interest in dramas, were showing huge interest in <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow>.

And it was not just them.

For better or worse, the drama had already gone massively viral across the country.

Yet Ji Yeon-woo himself was desperately trying to hide his involvement.

He said it looked like the drama would flop or something.

"But are you really not gonna tell them until the end? I wanna see their reactions."

"Why would I give them something to mock me over for the rest of my life? Besides, they'll find out when the time comes."

"Huh? They'll find out? Are you going to tell them?"

"...There's something, idiot."

Yoon Dong-woo tilted his head.

He had no idea what Ji Yeon-woo was planning, but decided not to pry.

"Anyway, wanna grab some soju tonight? You're paying, obviously."

"Can't today. I'm already at a team dinner."

"Ah, right. Makes sense."

Today was the day of the drama's first broadcast.

He was probably watching it live with the staff and actors who had worked so hard together.

"You bastard, you're practically world-class now. You admit I got this whole thing rolling, right?"

"Yeah, thaaanks. Thanks to you, my embarrassing past is about to be immortalized nationwide."

"Hehehe. Don't mention it. Anyway, see you later. And don't be too disappointed if the drama flops. The next one can be a huge hit."

"What next? I've got to go. I'm hanging up."

The call ended with that.

Yoon Dong-woo hummed as he stared at his phone's darkened screen.

"Hmm. Somehow, I like this one better."

As he muttered to himself, Yoon Dong-woo's gaze drifted toward a corner of his monitor.

A single document file sat alone on the desktop.

[Untitled.pdf]

It was the unfinished script Ji Yeon-woo had casually handed him some time ago.

The rom-com script Ji Yeon-woo had written was fun too, of course, but Yoon Dong-woo personally preferred this one.

"It'd be nice if this got made into a drama too."

Bzzzt!

The phone on his desk vibrated again.

Yoon Dong-woo's eyes widened as he checked the screen.

It was not the group chat, but a private message.

Unexpectedly, it was from Ji Seo-yoon, Ji Yeon-woo's younger sister, whose brother Yoon Dong-woo had just spoken to.

[Seo-yoon: Dong-woo oppa]

[Seo-yoon: Are you busy?]

[Yoon Dong-woo: What's this? Seo-yoon's actually messaging me?]

The moment he sent his reply, the number 1 disappeared and another message arrived.

[Seo-yoon: Actually, I have a favor to ask.]

[Seo-yoon: You work at a broadcasting station, right?]

[Seo-yoon: Do you know a lot of PDs in the drama department too?]

[Yoon Dong-woo: Well, we're in different departments, so we're not close, but I know people through people. Why? Is there something you want to know?]

[Seo-yoon: Could you ask around for me? There's a writer I really want to find.]

[Seo-yoon: I asked my brother too, but that asshole ignored meㅠㅠ]

[Yoon Dong-woo: Ah, okay okay]

[Yoon Dong-woo: What's the writer's name?]

After a brief pause, Ji Seo-yoon's messages continued.

[Seo-yoon: I don't know anything about the writerㅠㅠ]

[Seo-yoon: I only have the script, so I'd have to identify them from that. Is that possible...?]

She knew nothing about the writer, but had the script?

It was such an unusual situation that he was briefly taken aback.

Still, if she had the script, finding the writer would be easy enough.

[Yoon Dong-woo: Okay, got it]

[Yoon Dong-woo: Send me the script file later]

#

"Hey! Table three is out of meat! Set up three more portions of pork belly!"

"Two bottles of soju over here!"

"Lighting team! You've all worked hard! Let's make a toast!"

This was a large barbecue restaurant in Yongsan.

The entire restaurant had been booked for the team's dinner as they watched the first episode of <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow> live.

"God, I'm so nervous I could die."

"I'd be happy if the first episode just got a 7 percent rating."

"I don't even care about ratings. I just hope viewers like it... Please, just don't let us get buried under a mountain of hate comments...!"

The conversations drifting around were half anticipation and half anxiety.

Maybe it was because the project had become so big.

Everyone looked as though the drama's success or failure was a matter of life and death.

"But the writer is really amazing."

"...Me?"

"Yes. You're so calm. Anyone would think you just came out for dinner."

Well, sorry, but I'd already given up.

I had long since graduated from the stage of trembling with anxiety like them.

"Well, worrying won't change anything."

"Wow. That's true, but it sounds really obnoxious."

"Writer, could you say that to the person next to you too?"

The assistant director pointed toward one side with their chin.

Do Jae-hyun was sitting there, desperately bouncing his leg.

I thought there had been an earthquake. So he was the cause.

"Jae-hyun, are you okay?"

"Y-Yes?! No, I'm fine!"

"No one's going to eat you. Relax a little. Your meat's burning."

"Y-Yes! Understood!"

Still, the other lead actors seemed used to situations like this.

Look at them. They were sitting there calmly, watching everything unfold.

And Woo Young-taek, the most senior person there, was personally taking charge of the mood.

"All right, everyone! Attention! Let's have a nice little bet on the ratings!"

"Oh, sounds good. First episode ratings?"

"Come on, first episodes are boring now. Let's make it more exciting and bet on the final episode rating!"

The numbers immediately began flying from every table.

"Okay! I'm betting 100,000 won on 7 percent!"

"I'll play it safe and go with 5 percent!"

"Come on, it has to hit double digits. I'm betting 200,000 won on 10 percent!"

"Then I'll double down! 20 percent!"

"Hahaha. Director, that's going too far."

The actors and staff competitively called out higher and higher numbers.

Then, as I silently ate meat amid all that, Director Woo Young-taek looked at me with a sly smile.

"Haha. We can't have the person with the best instincts staying quiet here."

"...?"

"I'm talking about you, Writer. What percentage are you betting on?"

Everyone's attention immediately turned to me.

Seriously? A surprise question while I'm eating?

But I could not throw cold water on the mood, so I stopped chewing for a moment and did some mental calculations.

'The hype was built up well, so the first episode should do pretty well... But it won't be able to maintain that through the finale.'

There was also SBC's tentpole drama as competition, so even 5 percent would be good.

And if I stripped away all the hype, maybe 3 percent?

Having reached that conclusion, I chewed my meat and casually held up three fingers.

"W-What? Are you serious, Writer?"

"Pwahaha! Writer! That's going way too far!"

Was it?

Amid the fierce booing, I awkwardly folded my fingers back down.

Had 3 percent been too low after all?

But according to my objective analysis, it was right.

The early buzz might pull in viewers, but with the story losing momentum as it went on, it was obvious the drama would lack staying power.

"All right! The commercials are almost over! Everyone, raise your glasses!"

Director Woo Young-taek abruptly stood and held his glass high.

At his booming shout, the actors and staff all brought their glasses toward the center of the table.

"Then I'll lead the toast! Repeat after me!"

"Yes!"

"In honor of our writer's incredible ambition and confidence! To 30 percent!"

"To 30 percent!!"

For a moment, I doubted my own ears.

What did he say? Thirty percent? Not 3 percent?

I hurriedly waved my hands, about to correct the number.

"Whoa! It's starting!"

"Hey, quiet! Ma'am, could you turn up the volume?"

"Let's go! Thirty percent, let's go!"

"Whoaaa!!"

The restaurant erupted at someone's urgent shout.

The commercials ended on the large TV mounted on the wall, and the opening sequence announcing the first broadcast of <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow> finally filled the screen.

#

The tvM main control room.

Normally, the restricted area would have been filled only with dry machine noise and typing, but today it was noisy.

"You should bet based on the odds. I'll safely go with 5 percent."

"Come on, it's a tentpole drama. I'm betting 7 percent!"

"After seeing the internet go wild, don't you think it could even hit 10 percent?"

Unlike the restaurant, where bets were being placed on the final episode rating, the staff here were betting on the first episode rating.

Green and brown bills were being tossed onto the table when suddenly...

Clunk!

The heavy soundproof door opened, and the laughing employees instantly fell silent.

Tae San-hyeok, the powerful head of tvM's drama bureau, had arrived.

Behind him, Department Head Ha Do-woon followed while nervously adjusting their tie.

"Well, well. Look at these idiots."

"Ahem..."

Department Head Ha Do-woon clicked their tongue at the piles of money and the numbers written on Post-it notes.

"Five percent, seven percent, ten percent. Good grief, look at all these gamblers. Did you come here to win money?"

"Ah, hahaha... Would you like to join too, Department Head?"

How should I kill these idiots?

Department Head Ha Do-woon gave an awkward cough, mindful of Tae San-hyeok beside them.

But Tae San-hyeok did not seem to mind at all.

If anything, he was looking at the numbers on the Post-it notes with interest.

"Is 10 percent the highest?"

"Pardon?"

An unexpected question from Tae San-hyeok brought a brief silence to the control room.

"Ah, yes... Above 10 percent..."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

With that, Tae San-hyeok took a thick wallet from inside his jacket.

He pulled out four crisp 50,000-won bills and tossed them into the center of the table.

"Then I'll bet on 15 percent."

"W-What? Fifteen percent?!"

The employees' eyes widened as though they might pop out like frogs'.

Even Department Head Ha Do-woon, standing beside him, blinked in disbelief.

"All right, it's about to start. Enough chatter. Get to your stations."

At Tae San-hyeok's order, the employees swallowed hard and hurried back to their monitors.

The heat surrounding the gambling table swiftly died down, and the usual taut tension of the main control room filled the space again.

"One minute!"

The voice of the broadcast operator watching the main monitor was sharp with tension.

Tap, tap-tap.

Only keyboard sounds broke the heavy silence. Then the data analyst monitoring real-time ratings on a secondary screen widened their eyes.

"Uh, wait? I think there's a system error...?"

"What do you mean?"

Department Head Ha Do-woon frowned and walked over.

The employee pointed at one side of the screen with a trembling finger, as though unable to believe it.

"This... The commercials are still airing, but the real-time rating has passed 6 percent."

"W-What?! Six percent?!"

Six percent during a commercial break, before the actual broadcast had even started?

Department Head Ha Do-woon shouted at the absurd news.

"Crazy! That means viewers have all been waiting through the commercials!"

And the surprise did not end there.

"D-Department Head! The graph...! The graph's gone crazy!"

At the employee's urgent shout, every gaze in the control room turned to the ratings monitor.

The line graph showing real-time minute-by-minute ratings was shooting upward as though a rocket had launched.

6.5 percent... 7.2 percent... 8.4 percent... 9.1 percent...!

A steep climb that ignored all normal fluctuations as it soared madly upward.

The incredible curve was so fast that it was hard to follow with the eye, and murmurs once again filled the control room.

Then, at last, a minute passed.

The final commercial ended, and at the very moment the opening title of <Living with My Ex-Boyfriend Somehow> aired...

"T-The opening rating...!"

The data analyst swallowed and shouted in a voice close to a scream.

"10.2 percent...!! The opening rating has passed 10 percent!!"

"...!!"

Double digits from the very start of the first broadcast.

It was the first record of its kind since the network's launch, unprecedented and never to be repeated.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried