Chapter 72: Loved Too Much

After the Baek-am Art Awards concluded, several topics became the talk of the town on SNS and various online communities.

The first was regarding *Virus* in the TV category.

Some argued that winning both Best Screenplay and Best Actor in the TV category was a sufficient achievement for *Virus*. However, others countered that the competition had been far too stiff. If it hadn’t been for *High Level*, *Virus* was a drama that could have easily aimed for five awards.

Both sides certainly had valid points. For a debut work by a rookie writer, two awards in one category was a magnificent feat, but it was also true that it might have won more if *High Level* hadn’t existed.

But those were merely meaningless assumptions. What had happened had happened, and there was no way to change it. Because of that, not only Taeha but everyone else treated these discussions as lighthearted jokes and moved on.

In fact, there was a separate topic at the Baek-am Art Awards that captured people’s attention even more. It was the story of *High Level* and *Killer* both sweeping five awards each.

Specifically, the moment Jeong Myeong-hwan clutched the Grand Prize along with the Best Picture award and shed tears was one of the greatest highlights of this year’s ceremony. Jeong Myeong-hwan, who had always been criticized for his storytelling, had finally broken through to ten million viewers and received recognition at the Republic of Korea’s most prestigious awards ceremony.

From a third-party perspective, it was a magnificent narrative of success marked by significant trials and tribulations.

Consequently, memes of Jeong Myeong-hwan bursting into tears the moment the Grand Prize winner was announced began circulating on SNS and online communities. Eventually, the meaning of the meme evolved, becoming an emoji used when responding to a touching story.

Taeha also used this meme once while communicating with fans on Planet, which briefly became a hot topic. As a result, he received a message from Jeong Myeong-hwan.

[Are you getting in on this too, Taeha?]

In any case, Jeong Myeong-hwan’s Grand Prize win had become that much of a sensation.

However, there was something even more discussed than that: the acceptance speeches of Han Yun-seong and Lee Seok-hyun. Someone presumed to be a fan of Taeha posted a thread on a community titled, [Kang Tae-ha, receiving excessive love from his two older brothers.gif].

The post contained the scene where the two actors were even happier than Taeha himself, grabbing each other’s hands the moment he was called as the winner of the Rookie Actor Award, as well as the scenes where both actors expressed their disappointment toward Taeha in their respective acceptance speeches.

Photos that seemed intentionally edited to make it look like they were sending affectionate gazes toward Taeha were also uploaded, triggering an explosive response.

— Why is the ‘two counts of disappointment’ thing so funny no matter how many times I watch it? lol

— It was also hilarious when the camera caught Kang Tae-ha’s wronged expression while Han Yun-seong was giving his speech. lol

— Even in the middle of the chaos of winning the Screenplay Award, he asked the disappointed people to contact him. He has so much wit.

— So funny.

— Kang Tae-ha definitely seems to have a bright and cheerful personality without any pretense.

— He’s been famous for his sociability for a long time. He was even close with Seon Min-gi, who’s famous for being dark. lol

— Is he like a character who’s just adored by his older brothers?

— It seems like more than just being adored.

— You can tell just by how happy they were when Kang Tae-ha won the Rookie Actor Award. lol

— Look at those gazes. No matter how much you edit it, those are looks you’d see in a movie scene.

— It seems like Kang Tae-ha makes his fellow actors feel very comfortable. Seeing how everyone who works with him likes him.

— He has the face and the acting skills that don’t match his age.

— He’s incredible as a writer, too. Look at how much Han Yun-seong respects him.

— You could feel it while watching the drama. The actors were immersed in the scenes because of the script.

— Virus is a real masterpiece… It should have won more awards.

— By the way, does it feel like this awards ceremony started and ended with Kang Tae-ha for some strange reason?

— Is it even possible to be nominated for awards in both the TV and Film categories as both a writer and an actor at one ceremony?

— It would be hard enough to be that active just as an actor.

— And yet, the trap is that he only won two awards himself.

— So, did Han Yun-seong and Lee Seok-hyun resolve their disappointment?

— They said they aren’t disappointed anymore. lol Han Yun-seong replied to a fan about it.

— Lolololol, man.

— Lee Seok-hyun mentioned something similar on a variety show recently.

— Seriously, what is Kang Tae-ha’s charm? lol

— It’s so good to see three handsome actors like this.

— The period on the ‘Disappointment’ saga was his self-loving acceptance speech despite receiving all that love from his older brothers. lol

— “I don’t need my brothers’ love! I only love myself!”

It was a somewhat baffling reaction for Taeha. He had never imagined the awards ceremony would result in such a response. Especially the part where his final acceptance speech was interpreted as self-love that didn’t need the affection of his brothers.

From Taeha’s perspective, it was a rather shocking reaction.

In any case, while the talk surrounding the Baek-am Art Awards was gradually fading from the public’s memory, Taeha finally completed the script for *Your Brilliant Sparkle* all the way to episode sixteen.

It was one week before the filming of *Your Brilliant Sparkle* was set to begin.

***

The first person to see the completed sixteen-episode script of *Your Brilliant Sparkle* was, naturally, Taeha’s assistant writer, Jeong Hyo-seop.

After checking the script, Hyo-seop’s ears turned red, and an exclamation escaped his lips before he even realized it.

“Wow…”

Seeing this, Taeha turned the air conditioner in the studio to high and asked, “How is it? Do you think it’s okay?”

Feeling his back grow damp with sweat, Hyo-seop nodded as if half-dazed.

“It’s so good… honestly.”

Jeong Hyo-seop was an assistant writer who had already worked with two main writers before Taeha. His career began right after high school when he was introduced by an acquaintance to work as the youngest assistant for a famous daily drama writer.

After finishing one work over two years, he moved to another studio and participated in another project. The main writer he met then was someone who had debuted on an OTT platform and was writing their second work.

‘Both of them were good people. But…’

To be honest, the work with the two main writers he met before Taeha had been a bit disappointing for Hyo-seop. The personalities of the two main writers themselves weren’t bad. Since they were writers, they were occasionally sensitive, but as long as he was mindful of that, there were no major difficulties in the work itself.

Nevertheless, the reason Hyo-seop felt disappointed was the viewership ratings of the two projects. To him, both works seemed well-written. Since they were projects completed after months of staying up all night deliberating and holding meetings, he couldn’t help but feel that way.

Strangely, however, the ratings for both works were poor. This was true even though the first main writer was a famous writer with experience penning several projects.

When Hyo-seop entered Taeha’s studio as his third workplace, he didn’t have high expectations.

‘I only wanted to work hard, build up my career, and take the next step.’

The reason he chose rookie writer Taeha’s studio over offers from other places was for this very reason. Unlike other places, Taeha’s recruitment notice included a phrase stating that it was possible to prepare for a debut while helping with the work.

So, Hyo-seop entered the studio with the plan to work diligently while preparing for his own debut.

However…

‘My thoughts changed the moment I read the writer’s work.’

The script for *Virus*. The story contained within it was something extraordinary. Even more surprising was the fact that the answer was in that script. The reason why the two projects he had participated in previously had not succeeded.

Hyo-seop realized this as soon as he read the script for *Virus*, and at the same time, he pushed his dream of debuting to the back of his mind. He had come to realize how lacking he was.

Then came the process until the end of *Virus*. During that time, Hyo-seop had truly precious experiences that could not be compared to anything he had done before. It was only natural, as he had participated as the first assistant for a work that ranked in the top ten all-time viewership ratings for tvM.

What was even more surprising was that Taeha, who wrote such a brilliant work, had a perfect personality. Taeha was a man without a single flaw. He never showed signs of being sensitive at any moment, and his self-management was perfect.

Even his appearance, which belonged to the most brilliant among actors, never had an “off-season.”

‘Since he’s a man with perfect self-management, there’s no way he’d have an off-season…’

In this way, Taeha was a person with so much to learn from, ranging from his skills to his personality. And that was the reason Hyo-seop stayed in this studio. Beyond just learning, he was curious about what kind of appearance Taeha would show in *Your Brilliant Sparkle*.

Now that he had finished reading the script up to episode sixteen, Hyo-seop couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat as he felt the presence of a massive wall.

*Your Brilliant Sparkle* was an even more perfect script than *Virus*, which he had already thought was perfect.

‘If I write for my entire life, could I ever surpass this script?’

He even had such a thought. Moreover, the creation process of this script was even more arduous than *Virus*. The casting process for the female lead, Shin So-hee, was difficult enough, but the casting for the second lead was also extremely challenging.

In the end, unable to find an actor, Taeha had to hold auditions to cast the second lead. He meticulously examined over 100 actors before finalized the casting.

Ultimately, it was a relief that he cast a good actor, but for Taeha, who had to focus on writing the script, it was an incredibly taxing process. Even Taeha, who never showed signs of being tired no matter how hard it was, was the first to speak up on the way back from the auditions.

‘Should we take a break tomorrow?’

Furthermore, in the case of Taeha, he had to consider his own appearance as an actor while preparing for this work as a writer. Hyo-seop could see the difficulty of this part with his own eyes during the script reading.

While doing the script reading as the male lead, he would suddenly become the writer and have to coach the other actors on their acting. It was a role transformation on par with *Jekyll and Hyde*. Even Im Kyung-ho, who was directing *Your Brilliant Sparkle*, looked at Taeha with pity, thinking he was overworking himself.

‘And yet, he wrote something like this… The writer did it!’

Feeling the great wall, Hyo-seop was so moved by the fact that he felt like he might burst into tears.

However, Taeha, seeing Hyo-seop crying, was delighted.

“Wow! You’re crying! You’re crying because the script is fun, right?”

Hyo-seop felt his tears instantly retract. And he thought to himself.

‘Our writer is good in every way, but the problem is that his T-tendency is a bit too strong.’

For reference, Taeha’s MBTI was ENTJ.