Episode 1: 8.8%, Episode 2: 9.7%, and Episode 3: 10.3%.
There was a clear reason why the viewership ratings for *Your Brilliant Radiance*, which had been on a steady upward curve, suddenly dropped to 6.3% for Episode 4.
The reason was not particularly special.
A portion of the audience had failed to watch the original broadcast because it overlapped with the men’s soccer final at the Asian Games, a match where military exemptions were on the line.
Since there was a clear explanation, everyone was disappointed but not worried. And just as everyone expected, the ratings recovered immediately the following day.
It didn’t just recover; the ratings surged significantly to 11.9%. New viewers had flowed in through VOD services.
Episode 6: 12.5%, Episode 7: 13.2%, Episode 8: 13.9%…
At this rate, the success of *Your Brilliant Radiance* was practically guaranteed. Finally, it recorded 14.6% for Episode 9 and 15.3% for Episode 10, breaking the record for the highest viewership rating previously held by *Virus*.
By Episode 10, the drama had already achieved the feat of entering the top ten all-time highest-rated dramas for TvM. Since there were still six episodes remaining, even better records could be expected.
“Maybe it will even make it into the top five?”
It wasn’t just about the viewership ratings. *Your Brilliant Radiance* was also generating an incredible amount of buzz. This was evident just by looking at how the drama had taken over community message boards.
— Ah, T_T Please just let our Sihu be happy and in love T_T
— Anyway, Shin So-hee has completely awakened since leaving Baek Seung-chul lol. Why is her acting so good lately?
— Honestly, is there even a single hole in the acting for *Your Brilliant Radiance*?
— Yeah, has Kim Se-mi always been this good? I’m totally shocked.
— I found Han Woo-ri the most surprising. She stands out the most lol.
— Han Woo-ri’s acting was already decent back when she was an apprentice priest in *There is a Reason for Everything*.
— But why didn’t she do any acting for a while after that finished? It’s a bit of a shame.
— Still, when it comes to acting, it’s Kang Tae-ha lol. Honestly, is there anyone in *Your Brilliant Radiance* who can keep up with his acting?
— In that age group, there doesn’t seem to be anyone better than Kang Tae-ha, regardless of gender.
— It’s just because he hasn’t shown much yet, but in terms of acting, I think he should be classified as a top-tier actor.
— Has Kang Tae-ha really shown “very little”? He was one of the two leads in a ten-million-viewer film and the male lead in a drama that’s in the TvM all-time top ten.
— It just feels like his number of works is slightly lacking. But for someone of Kang Tae-ha’s caliber, he could be classified as top-tier.
— No, you have to see Kang Tae-ha as top-tier lol. He was amazing in *K-Force*, *There is a Reason for Everything*, and *Virus*.
— He was just a supporting actor in *K-Force* and the sub male lead in *There is a Reason for Everything*, so it’s hard to call those his achievements.
— *Virus* was even his work as a writer. Why are you sneakily sliding that in?
— It really hits me again that Kang Tae-ha is one crazy talented guy. How can every single thing he does be a hit?
— As a writer, he already has two dramas in the TvM all-time top ten lol.
— I think Kang Tae-ha should be even more highly evaluated in *Your Brilliant Radiance* because he handled the roles of both writer and actor.
— These are professions where you’re praised just for being good at one…
— But is it common for someone to be both the writer and the actor?
— It’s not like it never happens, haha. It’s a bit more common in the film industry.
— You could say it almost never happens in dramas. Both roles are so difficult that it’s hard enough to do them separately.
— Even in films, it’s not common for the writer to play the lead role ^^* Maybe in independent films!
— You just have to accept that Kang Tae-ha is incredible.
— He’s literally writing history lol.
As the viewership and buzz surrounding *Your Brilliant Radiance* grew, the praise for Tae-ha increased as well.
However, Tae-ha didn’t pay much attention to these reactions. He had expected this to some extent if the drama succeeded. It was a result that had been decided from the moment he chose to be both writer and actor.
If he succeeded, he would be praised for how he managed to do both; if he failed, he would be criticized for even thinking he could do both. Because of that, Tae-ha focused only on the fact that *Your Brilliant Radiance* was being loved by many people.
That was what was important and what he was grateful for. This was also why Tae-ha was active on Planet, MyStar, and fan cafes after the broadcast. He wanted to return the love he received to his fans.
This was especially true because he was receiving an overwhelming number of commercial offers due to the success of the drama.
‘It really was incredible…’
Following the broadcast of *Your Brilliant Radiance*, Tae-ha had been incredibly busy precisely because of these pouring commercial proposals. After much deliberation, Tae-ha accepted a total of seven commercial offers.
First was the renewal of his contract as the advertisement model for Maskleum. Maskleum, which had seen its brand awareness rise steadily after choosing Tae-ha, had now become one of the most famous men’s cosmetic brands. The success of *Your Brilliant Radiance* had been decisive in Maskleum’s growth.
Naturally, Maskleum did not want to lose Tae-ha to a competitor. In fact, Tae-ha had received offers from rival companies with exceptionally good terms. Upon hearing this news, the people at Maskleum grew desperate and had to improve the renewal conditions. As a result, Tae-ha was able to renew his contract with the highest level of compensation in the beauty industry. Im Chan-hyung’s negotiation skills had truly shone during this process.
Second was a contract with Artworks, which was known as the luxury brand of the outdoor industry. Having finished his contract with Philip, Tae-ha was looking for a new clothing deal. He had been positively considering a model contract with an SPA brand, which he had originally wanted, but Artworks made an incredibly attractive offer. Being a model for an outdoor brand was undeniably better for his image than an SPA brand. Furthermore, since Artworks was considered top-tier in that industry, Tae-ha had no choice but to change direction. And so, the contract with Artworks was finalized.
Third was an ionic drink commercial. Tae-ha, who had been the model for Shin-young’s hangover relief drink, did not sign a renewal this year. After seeing Tae-ha’s performance as a younger man in a campus youth drama, C-Jes offered him an ionic drink commercial. Ionic drink commercials were typically reserved for stars with a refreshing and clean image. Furthermore, the age group for such models was usually quite limited. Tae-ha felt he had to accept this offer with the mindset that he might not be able to do it if not for right now.
‘It’s a more symbolic commercial than a hangover drink, anyway.’
The fourth choice Tae-ha made was a ramyun commercial. Of course, since his broad public recognition was still growing, he hadn’t received offers for things like the spicy ramyun loved by all ages. However, Tae-ha had fresh appeal and recognition centered in his 20s and 30s thanks to *Your Brilliant Radiance*. Because of that, he became the new model for Bomb Noodles. Among the various series of Bomb Noodles, Tae-ha took the commercial for the Carbo Bomb Noodles. As someone who couldn’t handle spicy food well, it was the only one in the series he could actually eat.
‘They asked me to do commercials for the other Bomb Noodle series too… but I can’t film a commercial for something I can’t eat. It’s a matter of basic sincerity.’
In truth, the bigger reason was that he simply didn’t have the confidence to eat them even during filming.
‘Even if I use my Immersion Ability, my lips wouldn’t survive.’
Anyway, for the fifth deal, Tae-ha became the model for Green Market, a grocery shopping mall famous for its early-morning delivery. Originally, this commercial had been handled by female actors and idols categorized as top-tier stars, such as Shim Ji-hye and Enya. However, Green Market was looking for their first male model to create a different kind of buzz, and Tae-ha was selected. This was essentially a validation of Tae-ha as a blue chip in the advertising world.
The sixth offer confirmed his status as a top-tier star even more clearly. It was a coffee mix commercial. This was an advertisement that practically only the hottest stars in the Republic of Korea could do. It was also a brand that rarely selected new models because they favored long-term contracts. However, when *Your Brilliant Radiance* hit 15.3% in Episode 10 and entered the TvM all-time top ten, the coffee mix brand reached out. There was no reason for Tae-ha to refuse. Thus, Tae-ha became the model for Roasting.
Finally, the seventh. Tae-ha chose a car commercial. Maslen, a famous American car company, chose Tae-ha as the model for the Travel Road, a small SUV that was consistently loved for its hip vibe. A car commercial was another offer he had no reason to reject if the image fit. Consequently, Tae-ha became the model for the Travel Road without much hesitation.
Even though he had carefully checked the scripts to ensure his image wasn’t overexposed and chose commercials so that business categories didn’t overlap, it still came to this much. His schedule involved shooting seven commercials in a short period. Thanks to that, Tae-ha had to spend an incredibly busy time. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say he was the busiest person in the Republic of Korea.
In addition to commercials, interviews and pictorial shoots were piling up. Because the popularity of *Your Brilliant Radiance* was so intense, there were quite a few schedules involving both the male and female leads, and he simply couldn’t refuse them. They carried a strong sense of fan service.
‘This is all happening because the drama I wrote and starred in is being loved. Even if I’m tired, I should approach this with a happy heart.’
Despite being so busy, Tae-ha fought to maintain his work-life balance and managed to get about one day of rest per week. On those days, he did nothing and focused entirely on resting. A mountain of drama and movie casting offers was piling up in front of him, but he intentionally ignored them. He simply didn’t have the physical strength to review scripts and scenarios.
‘At least it’s a relief that I decided to only act for my next project.’
Originally, Tae-ha had planned to set his schedule so he could jump straight into his next work as soon as filming for *Your Brilliant Radiance* ended. However, it hadn’t gone as planned. Being both a writer and an actor was much harder than he had anticipated. Therefore, Tae-ha changed his plan to choose his next project after *Your Brilliant Radiance* finished. He decided to only focus on acting for the next one to give himself a bit of a breather. He judged that doing both writing and acting consecutively was physically impossible.
In conclusion, it was a good choice. If he had started filming his next project while also juggling the various commercial shoots, his body would have broken down.
Some time later…
‘Hmm…’
Having finally finished all his scheduled tasks, Tae-ha sat down to review scripts and scenarios. Two scripts lay before him.
One was surprisingly from Lee Hyun-seung, and the other was from Baek Seung-chul.
That was right. Tae-ha had received casting offers for both of their projects.