Chapter 23: A Wish Worth Winning

"20%, huh?"

At my words, everyone at the company dinner fell silent for a moment before bursting into laughter without anyone starting it first.

And it was understandable—these days, in the broadcasting industry, just surpassing a 5% viewership rating was considered decent.

If it crossed 7%, it was a success, and going over 10% was considered a huge hit.

So hitting 20% was being hailed as an ultra-big hit, one of the rare dramas of the year to be counted on one hand for its viewership.

"Even hitting 15% would be something, but 20%? Then  isn’t even the issue. That’s the top rating for the whole second half of the year, right?"

I smiled faintly and replied calmly.

"Who said there’s no law against being first?"

Hong, the CEO, gulped down the draft beer before his eyes glazed over, staring at the yellow lights of the pub ceiling.

"Hehe, if only it were that easy, we could completely crush those broadcasting stations’ egos..."

Hong’s teasing remark came from the countless hardships he’d endured dealing with the pomp of broadcasting stations and various companies during production.

At that moment, Seo Ji-won slammed her hand down on the table with her chopsticks and shouted,

"Then I’m going with 19.5%!"

When I gave her a look of disbelief, she retaliated by poking my forearm lightly with her chopsticks.

"I think you, the writer, have the best intuition here."

"What’s with the lowball?"

"I’m just worried I might lose to you. Betting requires precision, they say."

"Alright, alright."

Everyone laughed at Seo Ji-won’s not-so-cute charm while refilling their drinks.

"Then the last place has to buy the final company dinner, right?"

Director Kim grinned slyly and proposed a penalty for the loser, saying that with a prize, there must be a penalty.

"Sounds good!"

"Then I’m out."

"Out? You better not back out, or you’re the champion loser."

"The final dinner’s cost isn’t covered by my monthly salary."

"That’s what makes it exciting, isn’t it?"

At Kim’s words, his loyal subordinate, assistant director Park Sang-tae, wore a disgusted expression and tried to step back.

But despite the harsh penalty, most of the participants were already in a state of alcohol-induced bankruptcy.

By majority decision, no one backed out, and everyone joined this spontaneous gambling game.

The atmosphere at the company dinner grew more and more lively.

Hong, fueled by alcohol, kept shouting to go for a second round.

Chang-soo, who seemed to have taken a liking to Hong, naturally insisted that a second round—and even a third—was mandatory, showing enthusiastic support.

Feeling exhausted, I quietly got up from my seat near the window and stepped outside pretending to catch some fresh air.

On my way out, I grabbed a business card for a designated driver from the pub’s counter and pocketed it.

As soon as I stepped outside and opened the door, I pulled out my phone and called the driver service.

"I'm at the Sanggam-dong food alley. I need a designated driver, please."

"Yes, if you send the address via text, a driver nearby will arrive within ten minutes."

"Thanks."

Feeling the chill of the autumn night, I put my hands in my pockets and stood blankly in front of my parked car.

With a clatter of footsteps behind me, the pub door opened, and Seo Ji-won emerged, already putting on her mask.

She spotted me waiting by the car and hurried over.

"What’s this? Did you sneak out alone planning to go home by yourself?"

"I’m old, you know. I need to rest at home, or else I’ll just collapse."

"You called a designated driver, right?"

"Yeah, he’s coming soon, so don’t worry, go back inside."

"When you leave, I have to go home too. I’ll ask manager oppa to come pick me up."

Seo Ji-won sent a message to the manager and stuck close beside me.

Suddenly, as she moved closer, I caught a faint floral perfume mixed with earthy undertones.

"Step back. People will get the wrong idea."

"Don’t misunderstand. It’s just cold. Cold."

Feeling strange, I took a step sideways to put some distance between us.

Seo Ji-won flushed red and, with a pouty voice, retorted while tapping her feet on the ground.

"If you had a wish ticket, what would you wish for?"

"Me? I’d write. If we just hit 20%, I wouldn’t want anything more."

"But if you did win, who would you ask to grant your wish?"

If I had a wish ticket, who should I use it on?

I thought of asking Hong for a higher advance on the next project, but that seemed like a petty move.

Then, a more fundamental wish came to mind.

"That’s impossible. Even if I wanted it, it just wouldn’t work."

Knowing that neither the people here could grant it nor was it even legally possible anymore, I shook my head and dismissed the thought.

"Has the driver arrived?"

Seo Ji-won asked, and I hesitated without an answer.

Just then, a man who looked to be in his early forties arrived and found me.

"Here, driver. Please be careful."

Ignoring Seo Ji-won’s persistent requests to tell her my wish before leaving, I got in the car and headed back to the office.

Sitting in the passenger seat, I looked up at the streetlights passing by.

I felt the buzz of alcohol creeping in.

Noticing my state, thankfully, the driver said nothing and quietly drove.

Though I’d only had two or so draft beers, the effects hit me stronger than expected after such a long time.

Just then, my phone lit up with a notification from the ‘Gotflix’ app.

I half-heartedly opened it and glanced sideways at the driver.

As expected, the driver didn’t seem to notice the Gotflix alert and continued driving silently.

Feeling reassured, I checked the alert in full.

[Silver Quest (#1)]  
- Achieve a 20% viewership rating  
- Reward: 500 million KRW in cash / One Wish Ticket (Grade ㅇ)

This confirmed Gotflix’s intent more clearly than the previous sudden quest, which required ‘ranking first in the same time slot.’

It was even bolder than the wish ticket openly mentioned as a reward in the recent drinking bet.

‘Gotflix is reflecting my real situation and giving me quests.’

While the 500 million KRW reward was stunning enough, what caught my attention most was the newly introduced Wish Ticket.

A Wish Ticket, as discussed during the drinking party, was a kind of wish granted between people—nothing beyond that scope was imaginable.

But Gotflix was different.

Could it perhaps grant a wish beyond my expectations?

Maybe even the wish I had just imagined quietly in my mind would be possible.

As I thought further, the alcohol buzz faded and was replaced by a refreshing sense of vitality.

Though I was curious about what ‘Grade 0’ meant, the quest didn’t come with any further explanation.

I’d have to complete it first to find out more details.

Then, I noticed something strange in the quest description.

It said nothing else.

The main quest only asked me to achieve a 20% viewership rating.

Unlike before, there were no specific conditions like “cast Ahn Yoo-seok as the lead in .”

So this meant the main quest was not limited to  but could be any work I do from now on hitting the 20% mark.

Honestly, I’d wagered on 20% at the dinner thinking it’d be fine even if I came in last and just had to buy the final dinner.

But if any work hitting 20% viewership was the condition, it was definitely worth trying.

---

The next day.

Though the aftereffects of the turbulent company dinner still left fatigue in my body, I woke early as usual and prepared to go to the gym.

Like the famous Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami, who wakes at dawn, writes like lightning, and sleeps mechanically, I knew such a lifestyle would be hard to follow.

But at least I decided to live by roughly following a similar routine.

“Mr. Lee Jung-hyuk, we’ve been waiting for you. Are you ready for your resolution?”

“Why do I need a resolution?”

“I heard there was a company dinner yesterday.”

The trainer’s muscular body twitched threateningly, already knowing from Seo Ji-won that I had indulged in food, fried chicken, yakisoba, and two draft beers.

“I didn’t drink much and went home early.”

“Ms. Seo already spilled the beans about you ordering chicken, karaage, yakisoba, and two beers.”

I recalled Seo Ji-won’s mischievous look as I left the scene yesterday.

“Traitor scum.”

The trainer ruthlessly tore my lower body apart like never before.

After finishing my workout and showering, my trembling legs didn’t stop.

I rested on the soft cushion of the café on the first floor.

Even there, my phone’s notifications wouldn’t stop blinking.

- Hello, writer. This is Koen Studio, following up as promised.  
- Mr. Lee Jung-hyuk, if I may say...  
- Hey, writer! This is Oh Tae-soo of One Star Dragon...

Even without looking closely, I could tell I was getting messages from multiple production companies.

Unlike before, when I was blacklisted and considered ugly news,  was now crushing , which was pushed by 0 Media, and I was getting inundated with calls from all over.

Of course, with my lower body sore from yesterday’s workout, I wasn’t sure if I could drive home and was seriously considering calling an ambulance.

Just then,

“Oh? The world’s most beloved and respected Lee Jung-hyuk, the great writer, happens to be here?”

Hong, the CEO, showed up looking surprisingly fresh for someone who had been drinking till the third round the night before, dressed in her typical business setup.

Her claim of a chance meeting was a lie I could guess by the brown leather briefcase she was carrying.

“What brings you here?”

“Of course, I’m here to help with your next project contract.”

“I haven’t even written the next project yet.”

~

Hong Joo-hee’s sharp look held a very detailed unspoken pressure.

Roughly meaning: “You, a writer who churned out a manuscript at a crazy speed in just a month, then gave us a finished work and did nothing for months after? Believe me? Hurry up and produce your next work.”

“Ah, okay, okay, stop looking at me like that.”

*“I won’t drag this out. Let’s make it a clean 60 million won per episode.”*

~

60 million won per episode was already an outrageously generous offer.

Only a handful of 5th-grade top-tier writers in Korea earned more.

“Since this would be your fourth work if you count the next one, and the success of  speaks for itself, you deserve a good deal.”

“Last time, it was practically your first work, so it had to be arranged differently.”

“Oh, enough with the old stories.”

Though I didn’t hear the other conditions in detail, by industry standards, it was a very favorable deal.

Of course, Hong must have judged that even offering me this would be advantageous for Ace Studio.

Hmm...

Still, I frowned slightly—not because I disliked the amount.

The lower body workout fatigue was just too much.

Seeing my expression, Hong quickly added more conditions.

“Of course, we’ll add incentives like before, and also some extra conditions for care.”

“What kind of care conditions?”

*“We’ll provide you with two verified assistant writers. Of course, we’ll pay their monthly salaries.”*

“I don’t need assistant writers.”

Since I just had to write the main manuscript based on Gotflix’s quests, I didn’t need assistants offering ideas or help.

In fact, I doubted anyone in Korea was a better writer than me, even Gotflix.

At that moment, Hong’s phone on the café table vibrated fiercely.

“Writer, I need to take this call.”

“Go ahead.”

I reclined on the cushion and waited for Hong to finish.

“Huh... what? That’s for real? Official?”

Hong’s dark eyes widened with excitement after the call.

“They said it’ll be released today? Uh... okay, that’s good news for us.”

After hanging up, Hong glanced at me nervously.

“Ugh... 70... 70 million! Let’s make it 70 million won per episode. That’s the maximum we can offer.”

A fast-food meal doesn’t take much time to eat, even if I write a lot, it’s about a week per episode at most.

So 70 million per episode was basically like getting 70 million per week.

At this rate, I’d be counted among the top 5% of writers.

“I’ve always admired your clean and excellent work ethic, CEO Hong.”

Since she was adding all these options, I no longer had much reason to refuse.

“So you’ll work with us, right?”

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“Thank you, writer!”

Only then did Hong’s face brighten.

Watching her, I suddenly got curious about the phone call just now.

“By the way, what was that call about? Why did you suddenly raise the contract amount so much?”

“Ah, since I can’t hide this from you, I’ll tell you. But please keep it a secret.”

Hong leaned in close and whispered quietly into my ear.

“Park Tae-won got caught drinking and driving again.”