Chapter 248: Drama Wars (3)

"What is the viewership rating?" I asked.

-10.2%!

Kim Sung-Woon answered excitedly that it'd been a long time since a Wednesday-Thursday drama had double-digit ratings in its first episode.

"What about

Festival of Money

?"

-9.9%. It was really close.

Kim Sung-Woon explained they narrowly won the viewership ratings competition at the scene where Manshin Wol-Ah appeared.

-Oh, I almost had a heart attack! It was back and forth from the start, then bam at the end!

It was encouraging to know we won because of the appearance of Manshin Wol-Ah, but I was also curious about the viewership ratings in other segments.

"How were the viewership ratings for the part with Miso? Did we get overtaken by

Festival of Money

?"

-Don't even get me started. That was a nail-biter too...

Scenes featuring child actors usually saw a drop in viewership ratings. However, the part with Miso was neck and neck with

Festival of Money

in terms of viewership ratings.

Then, when it was time for the scene featuring Ju Yung-In and Yoo-Jin, we were more than 1% ahead of

Festival of Money

in terms of viewership ratings.

-Although it dropped a bit toward the end, we still won. Everything went well.

Miso, Yoo-Jin, and even Jin Yoo-Jung all secured a win over

Festival of Money

from the first episode.

I attributed the victory to Kim Sung-Woon.

"It's all thanks to your excellent editing that we won, Mr. Kim."

Kim Sung-Woon responded in an ecstatic voice.

-

Ha ha ha

, I didn't even do anything. The script was great and the actors performed well. The staff worked tirelessly day and night, so it was a team effort.

At that moment, I could hear some commotion in the background of Kim Sung-Woon's voice.

-Ah, the director is calling for me so I have to go. I'll see you on set later.

"Oh, okay, Mr. Kim."

Click.

As the call ended, I let out a deep sigh of relief without realizing it.

At that moment, Lee Yung-Jin standing next to me looked at me and asked, "Mr. Jung, how did it go?"

Everyone including Gu Seong-Cheol was intently staring at me.

I made a peace sign with my hand and shouted.

"10.2%!"

Everyone's jaw dropped for a moment.

"What? Double digits in the first episode? This is crazy..."

As people were startled, Lee Yung-Jin asked urgently, "Then what about

Festival of Money

? Did we win?"

"Of course. They got 9.9%!" I answered.

"Wow, awesome~! It was really close, wasn't it?"

Gu Seong-Cheol smiled contentedly. "See, So Yi-Yung is no big deal!"

Oh Duk-Gu shook his head. "It's not that she's no big deal. Our Miso and Yoo-Jin did so well!"

"Oh, is that so?"

I immediately called Yoo-Jin.

When I said we won the viewership ratings, I could hear cheers through the phone.

We won by a small margin, but it was a definite victory.

***

[Wednesday-Thursday Drama War Round 1.

In the Name of God

Wins!]

[

In the Name of God

Child Actors' Incredible Acting Skills!]

[Chungmo Street's Blue Chip So Yi-Yung Loses Face!]

[Ju Yung-In and Jung Yoo-Jin's Stellar Acting Showdown!]

[

In the Name of God

Last Scene's Gray-haired Old Woman. Who is She?]

As soon as I woke up in the company’s dormitory room, I checked articles about yesterday’s broadcast on my phone.

"It seems like President Han can't block the articles anymore."

Han Se-Hwa could no longer flood the news with her paid articles since it was clear who won the viewership ratings competition, although it was a close margin of 0.3%.

As I smoothed down my messy hair and left the dormitory room, the employees arriving for work started congratulating me.

"I watched

In the Name of God

yesterday and it was impressive."

"Team Lead Jung, I heard the first episode’s viewership ratings were 10.2%. It might even surpass 30% at this rate."

I scratched my head, feeling a bit shy by the continuous congratulations. "Well, it's just the beginning so we never know."

"Why be so humble? You did great, Team Lead Jung."

Listening to the sunbaes’ compliments, I headed to the shower room on the second floor of the company.

As I quickly washed up and dried my hair, Bang Sang-Yung from Actor Division 1 came in. His disheveled hair didn’t look like it was from just leaving his house.

"Mr. Bang, did you sleep at the company last night?"

"Yes. I came back late from the countryside due to my actor's filming, so I just slept at the office."

"You should have slept in the dormitory room."

"I have a camp bed in my office. It’s more comfortable there."

Bang Sang-Yung stretched and congratulated me. "I watched the drama yesterday. Miso and Yoo-Jin’s acting was no joke."

"The viewership ratings were good as well," I added.

"Yeah, I heard you won the competition, huh?"

"Yes, by 0.3%."

"A win is a win no matter the margin."

However, Bang Sang-Yung slyly asked me a question as he got undressed. "By the way, who was that actress at the end? I heard you were managing her."

"Oh, Mrs. Jin Yoo-Jung? I’m temporarily taking care of her."

"Temporarily..."

After pausing for a moment, Bang Sang-Yung suggested, "Why don’t you try to bring her to our company? We seem to have many veteran actors, but not many good ones."

Seeing that even Bang Sang-Yung was fooled by ManshinWol-Ah, I was convinced Yoo-Jin had successfully deceived everyone.

I nodded and said, "I’ll talk to her about it."

At that moment, Bang Sang-Yung casually brought up another topic.

"More than that, have you thought about my proposal?"

"What proposal?"

"I asked you to join Actor Division 1, remember?"

The greed in Bang Sang-Yung’s eyes was growing more intense.

He added, "Why? Do you feel like you’re betraying someone?"

I contemplated how to respond but decided to answer honestly. "I want to stay with Mr. Gu and Mr. Oh who have helped me get this far."

In terms of management skills and competence, Bang Sang-Yung was no less than Kang Gam-Chan. That was the reason even Lee Gi-Cheol and Kim Dong-Soo couldn’t treat him lightly despite his chief position.

However, I had no intention of working under him. After all, I had nothing to learn from him and planned to create my own team anyway.

Yet his response to my answer was completely unexpected.

"Let’s be clear. It wasn’t Mr. Gu or Mr. Oh who brought you up," Bang Sang-Yung said.

"Excuse me?"

He continued, "I heard you fought with Chief Gu and asserted your opinion when you dismissed Yoo-Jin’s lesson teacher. "

As I wondered who could have told him that, Bang Sang-Yung read my mind and spoke first.

"I heard it from Team Lead Ju over drinks. However, I hope you don’t misunderstand. It's not like Team Lead Ju is my informant or anything like that."

I used to think Bang Sang-Yung was a quiet person, but he talked more than expected when we were alone.

"It's true that Mr. Gu and I had some conflicts, but he has supported me ever since," I explained.

"Hmm, I see..."

Bang Sang-Yung sighed and suddenly changed his expression like a predator eyeing its prey.

"Then I’m curious about one thing. Can I ask?"

"You can ask me anything."

"I heard that Actor Division 3 had an issue recruiting Sung Ho-Jun. Did you have anything to do with it?"

Hearing his question made me feel as if my heart sank.

‘

How did he know?

’ I wondered.

However, I barely managed to hide my surprise and responded, "I have no idea what you're talking about, sir."

Bang Sang-Yung smirked. "Playing dumb, huh? They said you met Sung Ho-Jun in the TVM waiting room. You’re not going to deny that, are you?"

I was already aware that Bang Sang-Yung had impressive connections. However, I didn't expect him to know even what happened in the TVM waiting room.

That day, only a few TVM assistant staff saw me when I went to the waiting room. No matter how careful I was, someone might have seen me going into the waiting room.

'

Could he be trying to use this to blackmail me?

'

I resolved to stay alert and kept my mouth shut because I couldn't afford to make a mistake and give him any leverage.

Seeing my expression, Bang Sang-Yung raised both of his hands.

"

Whoa, whoa~

Don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to blackmail you with this, Team Lead Jung. I already told you, didn't I? I'm on your side."

However, I didn't respond.

"It seems I've caused a misunderstanding. I'm sorry. I just wanted to show you that I have this level of capability so that you might take an interest in Actor Division 1."

"I'm a bit scared rather than interested," I replied.

Bang Sang-Yung laughed while glaring at me in a playful demeanor.

"I'd love to have you under my wing. I don't just aim to be a mere chief, after all."

Come to think of it, Bang Sang-Yung was widely known as the company's ace before Kim Dong-Soo.

I could read the meaning behind Bang Sang-Yung's confident attitude.

-Join my line

I finally understood why Bang Sang-Yung hadn't joined the Kang Gam-Chan or Suhyaejong lines—he was gathering his own people under the umbrella of Actor Division 1.

I was on high alert as I never thought he had such hidden intentions.

However, to avoid raising his guard, I said I'd consider his offer.

"I'll think about it seriously."

"Sure. Oh, and don't worry. I'll still support you even if Sung Ho-Jun joins Team Jung. I'd hate to see that guy Kim Dong-Soo being successful."

"That's a relief."

"Well, I need to wash up and then go out again... Take care, Team Lead Jung."

Bang Sang-Yung casually threw at me the heavy topic and waved as he headed into the shower room.

***

Bang Sang-Yung's words were quite concerning, but I couldn't afford to be distracted.

Episode 2 of

In the Name of God

today only had to compete with So Yi-Yung solely with Ju Yung-In and Yoo-Jin's acting skills, without help from Miso or Manshin Wol-Ah.

After handling matters related to

Womans

and Yetterang all day, it was finally 10 p.m., and episode 2 was about to start.

"Mr. Jung, it's starting."

Episode 2 of

In the Name of God

began with the scene shown at the end of episode 1 featuring Manshin Wol-Ah.

The scene revealed that the eerie Manshin Wol-Ah was actually Cheongmyung's mother. Then came the scene where Yoo-Jin helped the main actors catch the culprit.

In a narrow alley, male lead Park Nam-Cheol and female lead Ju Yung-In began to struggle against the possessed culprit.

Because the possessed culprit was a judo athlete with the soul of a former champion wrestler, the two were being thrown around helplessly.

At that moment, the shaman college student Cheongmyung, aka Yoo-Jin, appeared wearing a fluttering pink dress.

Yoo-Jin carried an art supply bag on her back and a Channy bag on her side while running into the alley.

『Well, well. Look at you guys. You guys were showing off by saying you are a detective and a prosecutor, yet you’re getting beaten up by a mere ghost~? Poor citizens of Korea. If our law enforcers are this pathetic, who can they rely on for their livelihood?』

Yoo-Jin sighed and calmly called a beauty salon while the two main characters were getting beaten up.

『Ugh. Hey! Cheongmyung! Can't you see I'm dying here?』

Park Nam-Cheol, who was punched in the solar plexus by the possessed culprit, cried out while crawling on the ground.

However, Yoo-Jin didn’t hang up the phone.

『Gosh, just wait a bit. I'll help after I finish the call. Yes~ Miss Kim. Something urgent came up today, so I can't make it. Please postpone my appointment to tomorrow. Yes~ that time works.』

At that moment, Ju Yung-In screamed.

『This is insane! Hey, Shaman bitch! Is this the time to be making salon appointments? We're all about to die here!

Aaaah!

』

Ju Yung-In was being held up by the action actor as she screamed her lungs out.

However, after calmly finishing the call with the beauty salon owner, Yoo-Jin placed the Channy bag and the art supply bag on the ground.

『I wasn't booking an appointment; I was changing my existing one because of you guys. You treated me like a lunatic when I told you the possessed guy was the culprit, but look at you now... Anyway, black-haired beasts always need to get beaten to come to their senses.』

Yoo-Jin grumbled as she took out shaman bells and a sacred knife from the art supply bag. Holding the sacred items in both hands, she began chanting in a clear voice.

『Great deity of the heavens~ Great deity of the underworld~』

Yoo-Jin's voice echoed rhythmically through the narrow alley.

At that moment, the villain, a former judo athlete, began to falter.

『Good job, shaman!』

『Cheongmyung! Keep going!』

Encouraged by Park Nam-Cheol and Ju Yung-In's cheers, Yoo-Jin shook the bells with enthusiasm.

That's when the actor playing the possessed culprit changed his target. Seeing the actor approaching her, Yoo-Jin began to shout in annoyance.

『How dare a filthy ghost...』

As Yoo-Jin shook the bells more vigorously, the actor playing the culprit clutched his head.

In the meantime, Park Nam-Cheol seized the opportunity and tried to handcuff him. But just then, a bee suddenly appeared in front of Yoo-Jin.

『

Aaaah~!

』

The moment Yoo-Jin's loud scream interrupted the chanting, the possessed culprit started to rampage.

Crash!

The red-faced culprit grabbed Park Nam-Cheol and threw him against a wall, then picked up a clothes collection bin and hurled it at Yoo-Jin.

Although Yoo-Jin quickly dodged, her cherished pink Channy bag wasn't so lucky. The Channy bag she had placed on the ground was crushed under the green clothes collection bin and disappeared from her sight.

At that moment, Yoo-Jin's eyes widened with fury.

『How dare you ruin my Pinky!』

Yoo-Jin pulled another item from the art supply bag—steel knuckles for both hands.

In the drama, Cheongmyung could channel a deity directly into her body through possession.

Wearing the knuckles, Yoo-Jin began to tremble before shouting in a strange voice.

『You better say your prayers because you are so dead today!』

At that moment, Yoo-Jin's first action scene of her life began to unfold.