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“…PD?”
“Yes! The main character is a variety show PD at a broadcasting station.”
Only then did I become a little interested. As I met Jeong Dajun’s gaze,  he quickly handed me the script as if urging me to read it first.
I had promised to read it, so I might as well take a look. As soon as I took the script, Jeong Dajun smiled slyly.
“Hyung, I bet your opinion will change once you read it?”
I scoffed, of course.
“There is no way.”
.
.
.
…Well, maybe there is.
Despite being exhausted after practice and feeling like my body was melting away, I couldn’t put down the script once I started reading. As a result, I had to head to a meeting with the planning team a little later in a drowsy state, having not slept for several hours.
Darn it.
“How is it, hyung?! It’s so much fun, right?”
“Uh, yeah, it’s fun.”
It was, indeed, fun. There was a reason why Jeong Dajun had finished reading the script in the morning and eagerly asked for the next one.
While Korean dramas usually focus on preludes rather than climaxes to captivate viewership ratings, this one evenly sprinkles breadcrumbs throughout to maintain constant interest.
Moreover, while maintaining the authenticity of the broadcasting station, the parts that needed to be quickly passed through were smoothly filled with fiction so as not to lose tension.
This was a story with two main protagonists disguised as a romance.
The male lead, a rookie PD who joined the broadcasting station following the female lead, was originally from a chaebol family (an essential element for drama ratings). But the male lead hid his feelings from the female lead because his chaebol family ruined her family.
“Writer Kim Sukhui, she’s like a genius, right?”
“She’s a genius.”
I said it in detail, but that wasn’t the important thing for me.
“Right! Right! And isn’t Lee Jeonghun really similar to you, hyung?”
“…Hmmm.”
Yes, that was very troubling.
I slowly touched the corner of my mouth.
“Jeong Dajun, do you think so too?”
“Yes? Of course!”
The character, Lee Jeonghun from Please Take the Camera, was not much different in age from the 33-year-old second-hand rookie protagonist, Yu Jeonghwa. He was a ratings-guaranteed PD who had taken the most elite course by graduating with the highest honors, entering the company at the top, and not hesitating to do dirty deeds.
A character with a nasty personality who could do anything for ratings… Yeah.
Doesn’t this sound very familiar?
“Ah, I’m getting a caffeine rush! Before we leave, let’s watch the summary video again!”
“Sure~.”
After whining for a while, Jeong Dajun disappeared into his room, asking for a summary video to be watched on his phone.
As I was left alone, the system window popped up.
Ding!
[I think I know what Seo Hoyun is thinking….]
What a timely entrance.
I stared at it and gave it a shot.
“Hey.”
I asked while flipping through the script.
“This is just me, isn’t it?”
That’s right.
PD Lee Jeonghun? Don’t be ridiculous; this is just a copy of my life.
Of course, since it’s a drama, things like family background had been completely excluded, but this nasty personality was definitely me.
It’s one thing for speech and characters to be similar, but there’s no way the occupation and actions could be this similar.
“What’s this? You know, don’t you?”
There’s no way this could be a coincidence.
As I stared at the system window, there was no answer for a moment, and then it appeared again.
[Seo Hoyun.]
“What?”
And then, suddenly, it sent me a link.
It was the first time it showed me something using the search function instead of a dialogue box, so I was slightly surprised.
[High self-esteem people have “narcissism.” What is the treatment?]
[Hello!! (emoticon)
Today, I will tell you how to treat narcissism! (emoticon)
Many people around us are subtly affected, aren’t they? ㅜㅜ (emoticon)
Sometimes it can be embarrassing~ (emoticon)
So today, let’s learn how to treat narcissism!! (emoticon)]
“…”
Was this really supposed to be a treatment?
The more I looked, the more pointless the text seemed. As I opened my mouth in disbelief, a system message added one last comment.
[You seem to be overflowing with self-love…ㅎㅎ Try reading this once!! Recommended!!]
In other words, regain a healthy life by preventing excessive self-consciousness.
I glared at the system message and sighed, bowing my head.
This little…
It fed me a hearty serving of spite.
I dropped the script and tapped the table.
“Really?”
You’re trying to sell me this nonsense?
“Well then, should I, a narcissist, personally find out if I’m truly overflowing with self-love or not?”
[…Yes?]
“I’m occasionally baffled too. If I could confirm whether it’s genuine or not, I might be cured, right?”
Upon saying that, the system message went quiet.
It had been throwing up pointless blog lists like a phone, but now it ran away when cornered. I became more certain with this strange reaction for the first time.
How should I find out?
There was no way to tell by merely pestering Kim Jaeyeon, and it didn’t seem like there were any more hints to gain from rereading the script.
So, the conclusion was one thing….
Do I have no choice but to ask the writer directly?
I organized my thoughts and put the script back on the bookshelf.
Jeong Dajun came out of the room after seemingly watching the video and looked at me with envy, but I had no intention of letting it go.
Just then, the members who had finished getting ready for work came out of the room.
“Hoyun, what’s the meeting you set up with the planning department for?”
“To create our own YouTube content.”
“Huh?”
To explain to Kim Seonghyeon, who tilted his head as if asking what I was talking about, I kindly elaborated once again.
“A rural healing program.”
“…Huh?”
Kim Seonghyeon asked as if it was nonsense, but… I just smiled.
Why was it like this?
Actually, I really liked healing programs.
***
Rural healing program.
It was a concept that had been popular in South Korea for nearly 20 years.
“Yep? Can you say that again?”
So, when the planning team, who wore an expression that said “This again?” heard my plan, they made a rather strange face. The rest of the members seemed to spread their wings of imagination and looked excited.
Alright, go ahead and enjoy now.
“A rural healing program.”
“Ah… You mean our own content?”
“Yes, I’d like you to upload it on our official The Dawn channel.”
Aside from the youngest in the planning team, Lee Jihyeon—and of course, her expression wasn’t particularly good either—everyone else’s strange expressions turned into “Do we really have to do more now that we’ve just finished our activities?” but I stood firm.
“Can I ask why?”
The team leader let out a sigh, then raised a hand and asked, as if resigned. This meant “Let’s at least hear the reason since Seo Hoyun will eventually push for it anyway.”
I smiled shyly.
“I want to communicate with fans…”
“…”
“…It’s not working, huh?”
I was quite sincere, but their reaction was too cold.
“Alright, I know the reason already. Is the bait from the album-related activities enough? We have to eat and live even during our off period.”
“Yes….”
“Now, let’s put that aside. What’s the important point of this content? Kim Seonghyeon, what do you think?”
“Yes?”
Kim Seonghyeon blinked.
“Dance… practice?”
“Wrong.”
“Singing practice…?”
“Wrong!!”
“It seems like the ‘wrongs’ are getting more exciting…?”
That was an illusion.
Now, let’s show a model example.
“Lee Jihyeon.”
“Yes!”
“Give me a model answer. If Lee Jihyeon likes idols, what exactly does she want to know?”
“I’m into 2D these days.”
“I know. Just try talking about your recent favorite.”
Lee Jihyeon hesitated… and then began to spit out words one by one.
“I… What they eat these days, what they like—”
Everyone nodded in agreement, but Lee Jihyeon couldn’t stop there.
“—What their height is, how much they weigh, what’s on their playlist, what umbrella they use when it rains, how they hold chopsticks when they eat….”
“…”
“I’m… suddenly pissed off. Why doesn’t the writer give us those hints?”
“Yes, thank you. That’s already enough.”
No wonder those hints weren’t given.
“…What?”
“What did I just hear…?”
With those who couldn’t imagine the content opening their mouths in shock next to me, I quickly stopped Lee Jihyeon from talking and started to wrap up. I thought I should show them a better example.
“It’s about showing The Dawn’s daily life. Like what Lee Jihyeon said, what kind of food we like, what songs we enjoy, what we do on our days off… I think it’s a good place to show that.”
Lee Jihyeon continued to grumble beside me, frowning and saying, “The writer is too mean,” but Kim Seonghyeon still seemed not to understand and tilted his head.
“Then how can a rural healing program show to the fans the daily life that they wanted to see?”
“Me!”
Then, Kang Ichae raised his hand.
“Yes, Ichae.”
“I think I know what Lee Jihyeon is talking about. A self-sufficient rural healing program!”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Wouldn’t they want to see us picking wild herbs, chopping firewood, cooking, and playing together?”
“Wow, that’s exactly it.”
“How can Ichae get more perfect….”
“Don’t praise yourself.”
Kang Ichae let out an exclamation, patting his own shoulder. And then, he sent a mischievous glance at Seong Jiwon, who could only let out a small laugh.
“We’re planning to proceed with a pilot program first and, if the response isn’t bad, make it a regular program.”
“That means… the location… the shooting equipment…”
“Please prepare it within a week.”
“Excuse me?”
“Please prepare it within a week.”
“…”
I smiled brightly.
No matter how difficult they made it, I could handle it even more.
Nothing is more fun than pushing someone!
Honestly, there were only a few people in the planning team, enough to count on both hands, but since they had to handle all of Daepaseong Entertainment’s celebrities, I didn’t think the work would be light.
But I was also 120% sincere about making The Dawn successful.
If you want to raise an idol, you must do this much, of course.
Ignoring the planning team, who seemed to want to spit on me to feel relieved, I looked around at the members.
“I’ll talk a bit more. You guys go ahead.”
“Uh, hyung. Can you handle it?”
“I’d rather you not be here. It’d be distracting.”
“Wow, that’s cold!”
“Go.”
“Pretty Ichae will leave first, feeling hurt~. I need to prepare the T-shirt I’ll wear during the shoot!”
“T-shirt?”
“Look forward to it~.”
Kang Ichae winked as he got up from his seat first. Seeing his intention to leave discreetly, I let out a hollow laugh inside.
Your intuition is seriously impressive.
By now, all the members had become experts at reading the atmosphere, but Kang Ichae was undoubtedly the best among them.
“Good work, everyone.”
“Good work~!”
The members and some of the planning team left in a hurry. Our manager, the planning team leader, Lee Jihyeon, and I were the only ones left. I checked to make sure that the members had definitely left.
“That’s suspicious….”
The planning team leader caught on to something and cautiously looked around before speaking.
“What is it?”
“I’m just surprised that they brought such a plain concept. I mean, rural healing is definitely a steady genre, but… the person who suggested it was Seo Hoyun. I can’t imagine him thinking of such a calm concept.”
“Why, I like healing stuff.”
“Ahaha. People usually want what they can’t have. Right?”
“That’s true. Maybe the team leader wants it these days too?”
“…”
The team leader awkwardly laughed in staccato, “Ha. Ha. Ha.,” but then stopped. And then he carefully asked.
“What are you aiming for? Do you want the fans’ reaction to be like, ‘Hoyun suggested this healing concept, wow. He’s even perfect at planning for genius idols’?”
“Come on, team leader. Wouldn’t it be more like, ‘Hoyun seemed not to be into it, but it looks like he actually wanted to do this healing variety show. Yeah, let our baby do whatever he wants’?”
“…”
Ding!
[…That’s a really plausible reaction, isn’t it?]
Exactly. It seemed like the planning team had been diligently monitoring these days.
“…I didn’t think that far, but it’s not bad?”
“I’m really curious about why Seo Hoyun is like that….”
“How on earth did he grow up to be like that?”
As I murmured while stroking my chin, the planning team leader and Lee Jihyeon gave each other knowing looks. I held back from saying that if you grew up working your bones off to raise a younger sibling ten years younger than you, you’d end up like me. I got back to the main point.
“Anyway. Read this once, and let’s discuss it afterward.”
I pushed the proposal forward. As the planning team and the manager read it, their expression changed rapidly. The content was about leaving everything to the vivid reactions on the spot, without any specific script and only a rough outline…
“Do you know why I sent the members away?”
I added a spoonful of tantalizing MSG to spice things up.