A short while later.
Episode Sixteen of *Your Brilliant Sparkle*, which had recorded an 18.8% rating for Episode Fifteen, finally aired. The score for Episode Sixteen, upon its release, was 19.2%. In the end, it failed to break the 20% viewership threshold, settling for the fourth-highest viewership rating in tvM history.
However, Tae-ha did not feel much regret over this result. Rather, he was quite pleased. It was only natural, as he had achieved a staggering 19.2% rating in his first challenge as both a writer and an actor. In a way, it was a miracle that *Your Brilliant Sparkle* had achieved such a result at all. This was because the regression genre often fails to gain traction with 50 and 60-year-olds, who significantly impact viewership ratings, due to the complexity of the subject matter.
Of course, he had chosen the Kim Tae-yang and Lee Soo-jung couple for supporting roles with that in mind, but it was still an incredible outcome regardless. In fact, *Your Brilliant Sparkle* was the most successful regression-themed work to date. Perhaps because of this, the audience’s reaction to the ending of *Your Brilliant Sparkle* was also very positive.
— Ah… I can’t let Si-hu go…
— It’s a happy ending, though, haha. I was worried because it felt precarious until the very end, haha.
— Kang Tae-ha really seems to have a talent for maintaining tension until the end.
— *Virus* had a great twist at the end too.
— *Virus* was only a twelve-episode series, but *Sparkle* is incredible.
— This is the first time I’ve seen a sixteen-episode series stay this cohesive until the end.
— If Episode Sixteen was this good, couldn’t he have written up to twenty episodes?
— Yeah, lol. If it went to twenty episodes, hitting 20% would have been easy, lol.
— Why twenty episodes? That’s just greed.
— I also think it ended well because it was only sixteen episodes.
— So, are they really not broadcasting a special episode?
— Kang Tae-ha is really stubborn about this, haha. He’s refusing a special episode until the end.
— Isn’t it because he did both the writing and acting for the first time? He probably wants to keep it as clean as possible.
— Still, not even a cameo?
— Seon Min-gi, who helped at the fan meeting, could have made a cameo.
— What about Han Yun-seong or Lee Seok-hyun? They’d have come running if he called.
— I liked that there were no cameos. They can break the immersion.
— I agree. It makes it feel like he’s more serious about the work.
— It was a really good campus youth drama… It’ll stay in my memory for a long time.
— Jung Si-hoo and Lim Yu-jin were such a beautiful and lovely couple.
— Seriously, an indisputable masterpiece. Even the supporting roles were perfect.
— The fact that a regression drama got this kind of rating says it all.
— So sad. I lost track of time talking about *Sparkle* every lunch break. My side dish…
— Thanks to this, I heard less nagging from the manager. What a shame.
— I should rewatch *Sparkle* from the beginning.
— I can’t get over the lingering feeling, so I’m rewatching it too.
— What will Kang Tae-ha do for his next work? Is he going to be both writer and actor again?
— His image as a younger man is so strong now, I don’t know if I can immerse myself in his other roles.
— His acting is so good, won’t he be fine?
— Did you guys know? Every project Kang Tae-ha has been in so far has been a success.
— Oh, that’s true. What is he? Does he have a special eye for projects?
— Since he’s also a writer, he definitely sees works differently.
— But you can’t say he chose *Crown Prince*, lol.
— Even excluding *Crown Prince*, you have to admit he’s good at picking projects.
— So what’s he doing next? Is he writing it himself again?
— Since it was hard doing both, maybe he’ll rest for a bit and just film commercials?
— He’s been appearing in a lot of commercials lately, haha.
— Please let his next work be a rom-com too…
— But isn’t Kang Tae-ha’s thriller acting better?
— I guess Kang Tae-ha is really popular these days. People are going crazy over whether he’ll write it himself, or if it’ll be a rom-com or a thriller.
— It’s not just “crazy” here, haha. In the neighborhood next door, they’re even running simulations to see what kind of drama he should write.
The audience’s reaction to the ending of *Your Brilliant Sparkle* was certainly excellent. Along with that, curiosity about Tae-ha’s next move also intensified. For Tae-ha, this was not a bad thing. It meant that the success of *Your Brilliant Sparkle* was not a one-off event but was continuing. This was especially true because he had already chosen his next project. The current interest would surely influence the performance of his next work.
Because he had achieved such satisfying results, the atmosphere at the wrap party was bound to be wonderful. The wrap party for *Your Brilliant Sparkle*, held in Sangam-dong, was not much different from his previous ones, aside from the neighborhood changing. The only minor difference was that the menu for round one had changed from Hanwoo to lamb chops. Just like before, tvM paid for the first round of the dinner, and Salamander Studio paid for the second round.
One more difference was that Tae-ha received even more fervent congratulations than he did during *Virus*. In particular, it was touching when Im Kyung-ho, along with Shin So-hee, Han Woo-ri, and Kim Se-mi, secretly prepared and presented a lettering cake. On the cake, the words ‘Kang Tae-ha, you are the best actor and writer. We love you’ were written densely.
Usually, such cakes were prepared by the broadcasting station or the production company for the director, writer, and actors. In fact, there was already a large cake prepared by Salamander Studio. However, by preparing another surprise cake, Im Kyung-ho, Shin So-hee, Han Woo-ri, and Kim Se-mi made one fact very clear: that Tae-ha was the one most responsible for the show’s success.
It was a fact that no one could deny. *Your Brilliant Sparkle* was a drama that began and ended with Tae-ha. Therefore, everyone without exception congratulated Tae-ha as he blew out the candles on the special cake prepared by the four of them.
The joyful atmosphere continued into round two, and just like last time, people gathered in front of Tae-ha to share important stories. The first person was Kim Se-mi.
“Thanks to you, Tae-ha, I was able to rediscover my forgotten passion as an actor. I feel like I’ve been acting for quite a long time, but this is the first time I’ve appeared in a work that ranks in the top five of tvM’s all-time viewership ratings. I’m truly grateful.”
“On the contrary, I felt reassured because you were there, Senior. Out of the four main actors, you were the only one who had continued your career by appearing in more than five dramas. I relied on you a lot mentally as well.”
“I don’t know if I was truly a source of support, but I’m glad you said that. For your information, I didn’t come here to ask for a favor; I really just came to express my gratitude. Thanks to you, I received my first lead role casting offer since my debut.”
“Oh! Is that true?”
As Tae-ha asked with a truly joyful expression, Kim Se-mi smiled satisfyingly.
“Yes. It’s true. So you see, right? How grateful I am to you? To be honest, I’m worried because it’s my first lead role, but I’ll try not to forget the passion I learned from you and work hard. So, let’s see each other often in the future.”
Tae-ha gave Kim Se-mi plenty of encouragement, saying she would be able to handle the lead role well. And he wasn’t lying. He sincerely believed that she would do a great job. Toward the end of *Your Brilliant Sparkle*, Kim Se-mi’s acting was so incredible that even Tae-ha worried about being overshadowed.
After Kim Se-mi left her seat, Han Woo-ri took her place.
“Once again, I feel like I’m leaving with nothing but lessons from you, Tae-ha. I wanted to be of help, but I’m sorry I couldn’t.”
Tae-ha quickly waved his hand at Han Woo-ri’s humble apology.
“No, Senior. Your presence was a great source of strength for me. Every time I remembered how my small advice changed your acting life, it gave me strength.”
“Oh. Was that so?”
“Yes. That’s how it was. So, Senior, please continue to develop as you are now. I believe you have enough potential to become a top-tier actor. And let’s meet again at a higher level with an even better appearance.”
As if touched by Tae-ha’s words, Han Woo-ri’s eyes welled up as she replied.
“Yes. Truly. Let’s do that.”
Later, Tae-ha heard additional good news regarding Han Woo-ri. It seemed she was also receiving various casting offers thanks to her performance in *Your Brilliant Sparkle*. All of them were at least for supporting roles or higher. This meant that Han Woo-ri might also take on a lead role. It was something to look forward to. Therefore, he told her to contact him anytime if she needed help.
After Han Woo-ri left, Shin So-hee took the seat after a short while.
“Wow. The competition for this seat is incredible. I was the female lead of this project; is it for real that people wouldn’t give up their spots?”
As one could guess from Shin So-hee’s story, countless people had come to Tae-ha after Han Woo-ri left. Important figures, from the head of the tvM drama bureau to CEO Han of Salamander Studio, had come by to offer their unreserved congratulations to Tae-ha. In particular, the bureau chief requested several times that Tae-ha definitely do his next project with tvM. It was only natural, as Tae-ha had aired two projects and both had hit record-breaking ratings.
He didn’t have a long conversation with CEO Han, as they had decided to have a separate meeting over drinks later. Shin So-hee, who had finally secured the seat in front of Tae-ha, continued.
“Anyway, thanks to you, Tae-ha, I was able to escape from a rotten rope and grab onto a new one. I’m really grateful.”
The “rotten rope” she referred to was Baek Seung-chul’s work. It was certainly fitting for Shin So-hee to express it that way. If she had decided to appear in Baek Seung-chul’s work, she would have been in a position where she’d be left with nothing, not knowing how her role would have changed by now. Because the controversy was so significant, there was an atmosphere in the industry that Baek Seung-chul was being completely ousted.
In fact, this was only right. No matter how good a writer’s drama might be, if the process of achieving that result was so hideous, it was correct to stop them from doing so. Tae-ha thought this far before smiling and replying to Shin So-hee.
“It was an honor for me to be able to cast an actor like you, Senior. I asked Jung Si-hoo, and it seems he still misses Lim Yu-jin very much.”
When Tae-ha made a joke, Shin So-hee, who had become very close to him after working together for sixteen episodes, played along.
“Is that so? Lim Yu-jin says she misses Jung Si-hoo a lot too. Since it’s come to this, should we film Season 2?”
“Season 2 might be difficult, but maybe we could do a spin-off or something someday. If Jung Si-hoo truly ends up missing Lim Yu-jin like crazy.”
“Ah. Then Lim Yu-jin should give up hope for a spin-off, let alone Season 2. There’s no way the real-life version of Jung Si-hoo, who has a bright future ahead, would miss Lim Yu-jin that much. I already heard. You’ve decided to enter a project by a joint rookie writer discovered by CEO Han?”
“Yes. It just happened that way. It would be nice if there were a spot for you, Senior, but unfortunately, this one is a male-centric one-man lead project.”
“Eh. I didn’t even expect it. There are so many people who can’t forget Jung Si-hoo and Lim Yu-jin; it wouldn’t make sense to do the same project together immediately after. But you know it’s okay for us to work together on the next project, right?”
“I know. At that time, I’ll consider you as the top priority. Even if it’s not as Jung Si-hoo and Lim Yu-jin.”
“Then I’m really going to look forward to it?”
“Yes. Look forward to it. If you have the courage to be betrayed by your expectations.”
“Ha. I knew you’d say that.”
Fortunately, Shin So-hee also seemed to be finding her own path well. After talking further, it appeared she had also received many lead role casting offers. Among them, she seemed most drawn to the film side. If the casting were confirmed, it would be Shin So-hee’s first challenge in a movie. Perhaps because of that, she seemed to have many concerns, and Tae-ha gave her some light advice.
The last person to find Tae-ha’s seat was Im Kyung-ho. As soon as Im Kyung-ho sat down, he asked Tae-ha.
“I heard your next work is a school drama… Is that true?”