Seo Jeong-yeop, one of the top 16 in South Korea, arrived at the filming site of , put on his mic, and asked Main 002 a question.
“So, who’s the guest today?”
“It’s Han Yunseong and Kang Tae-ha.”
The Main PD’s voice, replying to Seo Jeong-yeop’s question, flowed out as flat as ever.
There was a simple reason the Main PD responded so indifferently.
He always asked who the guest was, but it was rare for Seo Jeong-yeop to know the names.
Starting his heyday in the 1990s and being an entertainer with a dominant presence for 32 years in his fifties, in some ways, it was only natural.
With so many celebrities appearing and disappearing every year, it was no longer easy for Seo Jeong-yeop to remember all their names given his age and experience.
But this time, it was different.
“Hey! Han Yunseong!”
The reason was that Seo Jeong-yeop immediately reacted as if he knew the name.
Main PD asked curiously.
“You know Han Yunseong?”
Seo Jeong-yeop grinned confidently as if it were obvious and replied.
“Of course. He was in and .”
Main 80 from was impressed by Seo Jeong-yeop’s words.
“Oh! So you watched those!”
At the same time, Seo Jeong-yeop saw through Main PD’s little prank and got a bit riled up.
“That? You little rascal.”
Main PD acted like he was dodging backwards quickly.
They had been working together on the program for six years now, so this kind of joking was a daily routine.
After that little skit, as if rehearsed, the two shared a laugh.
Seo Jeong-yeop, his face full of mirth, asked the Main PD,
“So, what’s Han Yunseong here to promote?”
“There’s a new drama called coming out.”
“Ah, I know that one.”
This time, Main PD was genuinely surprised.
It was really rare for Seo Jeong-yeop to know about a drama that hadn’t even aired yet.
But, as expected,
“You know it?”
“Mm. It’s a medical drama, isn’t it?”
He was just pretending to know.
The Main PD picked up on this right away and responded to Seo Jeong-yeop’s words with an expression that said, I thought so.
“No, it’s a thriller.”
“Really? Did they change it?”
“Who changes a drama’s genre like flipping over a palm?”
“They could.”
“They really can’t. Anyway, today’s main isn’t Han Yunseong.”
“He’s not the main? Why not?”
“The co-star, Kang Tae-ha, is really hot these days.”
At this, Seo Jeong-yeop searched his memory for the name Kang Tae-ha.
But strangely, nothing came to mind.
So he asked.
“Is he famous?”
“Well, sort of? He got popular after appearing in that ended a few months ago.”
Of course, Seo Jeong-yeop also knew .
It was the most successful drama aired last year.
That’s why he found it even stranger.
Because the main male lead of was Seon Min-gi.
In other words, no matter how much Kang Tae-ha gained popularity through that drama, it was hard to imagine him being more famous than Han Yunseong.
Han Yunseong had already starred as a lead in several works, imprinting himself in the public’s eye as an actor.
The very fact that Seo Jeong-yeop remembered his name proved it.
“But why is Kang Tae-ha the main guest today, not Han Yunseong?”
Seo Jeong-yeop couldn’t help but have such a question and asked Main 00.
“How does an actor get the main guest spot over Han Yunseong just with one work? How?”
“Where do I even start? Hmm… Recently, there was some controversy about . About Han Yunseong’s interview.”
“Before it even airs? What kind of interview was it?”
Han Yunseong just joked that he couldn’t pay much attention to the project because the Writer was working a side job, but that blew up. People started talking like there was a conflict with the Writer.
Seo Jeong-yeop frowned at the Main PD’s words.
With his experience, Seo Jeong-yeop could immediately see how things had played out.
“Tsk. There’s just nothing to gossip about these days, huh.”
“Exactly. Anyway, the rumors about discord between Han Yunseong and the Writer are still going on…”
“And then?”
As the story seemed to get interesting, Seo Jeong-yeop pricked up his ears and leaned in toward Main 80.
But then, the look on Main 00’s face suddenly changed.
“…It’s a secret.”
“What?”
“You’ll know what I mean once filming starts.”
“What? You really won’t tell me?”
Annoyed, Seo Jeong-yeop couldn’t contain his curiosity and raised his voice.
But Main PD wouldn’t say a word in the end.
So Seo Jeong-yeop changed his target to Boom Bam.
He figured Boom Bam, who managed on the production team’s side, might know something.
“Hey, Boom Bam. You know, right? Why is Kang Tae-ha the main today?”
“Ah, that’s…”
But before he could answer, Main PD hurriedly stopped Boom Bam.
“Hey! No! It’s a secret until filming!”
“Not even for Jeong-yeop hyung?”
“I mean, it’s not like I’m asking for the song lyrics. Why hide something like this!”
With Boom Bam now involved in the fuss, the other panelists reacted too.
“What? Is there something today?”
“Sounds like there’s some secret about the guest?”
“Who’s the guest? Han Yunseong and Kang Tae-ha? Kyaa! Today’s gonna be great!”
“But apparently, Kang Tae-ha is the main guest, not Han Yunseong.”
“Why? Isn’t , where Han Yunseong stars, a huge buzz right now?”
“Isn’t it because of that? You know, with all those rumors floating around. Maybe that’s why they bumped someone else to main guest.”
“No, if that were the case, why not just change the guest? Why invite a famous person and then swap out the main guest?”
But the panelists were the same.
They heard Tae-ha and Han Yunseong were the guests, and that Tae-ha was the main guest, but they never found out the reason.
And for that reason,
“I’m here today as the Writer of to promote the show.”
As soon as Tae-ha’s statement ended, the entire set erupted in shock.
And this was why the Main PD insisted on keeping the secret until the end.
No matter how good the acting was, if the secret had leaked, such a real-time reaction wouldn’t have happened.
Seo Jeong-yeop, too, didn’t expect it; he covered his mouth in surprise and then got up and clapped.
Clap clap clap.
“Wow. Amazing. So this is what you were luring us in for?”
His first variety show appearance.
The moment Tae-ha took center stage as the main guest.
***
“Since it’s come to this, let’s blow it up and promote it big.”
That was Goh Seokjun’s thought.
And Goh Seokjun suggested that Tae-ha reveal his identity as that Tae-ha on one of the variety shows Han Yunseong would be appearing on for promotion.
It was a good idea.
It was hard to think of a better plan at this point.
So Tae-ha had no choice but to accept Goh Seokjun’s suggestion.
That’s how Tae-ha ended up added as a guest to one of Han Yunseong’s pre-arranged promotional schedules, .
At first, the Main PD of was reluctant to add a guest, but once the situation was explained, he was delighted.
The Main PD saw this as an opportunity to boost the stagnant ratings and buzz of .
As a result, the most shocking scene in history was created, and a few weeks later, that scene was revealed through 7/.
Even the part where Seo Jeong-yeop asks Main PD who the guest is, and the panelists guess in all sorts of ways, was all broadcasted.
They thought viewers would be able to experience the huge news with heightened anticipation and tension.
And this intuition of the Main PD was spot on.
As soon as the scene aired on , all the online communities exploded—and that was the proof.
– Kang Tae-ha is really that Kang Tae-ha?
– No way lol he’s really pulling double duty as actor and Writer lolol
– Wow ; can’t believe I got to see something like this live;
– Was that what Han Yunseong was sulking about? Kang Tae-ha’s been filming a movie lately
– Yeah, seems like it? He’s shooting an action flick with Lee Seok-hyun
– I guess he finished the Virus script before filming the movie.
– Why does it matter if it’s double duty lol all those rumors about discord were just weird lol
– Now that I check, there are even corrections out—apparently, it was just a joke during an interview
– Even Kang Tae-ha’s agency released a statement saying he had approval to work double duty;
– Once again proves our country’s journalist standards lol
– But why didn’t Kang Tae-ha appear in the work he wrote?
– Why does he have to, just because Han Yunseong agreed to play the lead?
– I’m sure he’ll at least make a cameo
– By the way, this is great lol both of them are from Critical Point
– Lead and bit part met again as lead and Writer
– Wow, people’s connections are really fascinating
– And Han Yunseong and Kang Tae-ha look super close?
– So heartwarming, really
– Seeing their two-shot makes my heart feel warm
– Their relationship is so good, so where did those rumors of discord even come from lol
And so every community was plastered with the news that Tae-ha was the Writer of .
He wanted to blow it up for promotion, but the impact was far beyond what Tae-ha had imagined.
He never thought it would become such a sensation.
There were even loads of positive articles about it, so there was no need to worry about any negative image for .
It was reminiscent of the anticipation when a Baek Seung-cheol drama was about to air.
That level of excitement could be felt.
“All that’s left now is for to live up to the viewers’ expectations.”
Honestly, this part was a little worrying.
But that didn’t mean Tae-ha felt any more pressure.
Whether promotion went well or not, the pressure for the work to be loved by viewers was always the same.
“So, there’s no reason to worry just because promotion went well.”
If anything, he should be glad.
Even if the drama didn’t do well, at least the first episode’s ratings would be high.
But a moment later, while browsing the communities, Tae-ha’s face stiffened.
The reason was simple.
“Nothing.”
Nowhere did anyone mention Tae-ha’s performance on .
It was quite unfair from Tae-ha’s perspective.
The main Game of was to listen to part of a song’s lyrics and guess the answer.
In that Game, Tae-ha remembered almost the entire lyrics of one song, got a one-shot, and succeeded on the first try.
He even found the key clue in the second song’s problem to get the second try right—his performance was outstanding by any measure.
And yet,
“To think there’s barely a mention…”
Everyone was just focused on the fact that Tae-ha was that Tae-ha, raising expectations for .
It was as if they’d completely forgotten about the content of .
His first variety show appearance.
At that unexpected side effect, Tae-ha was left frustrated.
***
One week later.
Finally, the first episode of aired on tvM.