Yuna was not someone who had originally learned acting.
She hadn’t graduated from any particularly famous theater and film department.
She hadn’t started her career by professionally learning acting.
It was just acting she began because she wanted to become famous.
And after luckily landing a few minor roles, she had barely reached the level where she could call herself an actor.
But that was as far as she could go.
In the world of actors, connections and academic backgrounds were more important than she thought.
Of course, the most important thing was skill. But Yuna wasn’t a genius either.
Having half-heartedly set foot into the acting world, she tried her best to truly break into it.
She tried to catch the attention of directors and writers to land good roles.
But it didn’t go as she wanted.
Just look at Minwoo, Siha, and Haon, who were in the same project this time.
They were all classmates from the theater and film department of Jungwon University, the best in Korea.
On every filming set, it was obvious they looked down on Yuna, who came from nothing.
Whenever she approached graduates from famous theater programs, they subtly distanced themselves from her.
And in the midst of it all, she met Siyeon.
Siyeon was just a middle school student.
Someone born with talent. And looks so stunning that they seemed untouchable.
Siyeon received tremendous love from directors, writers, and actors from the very beginning.
Even though she had only appeared as a cameo in a sitcom once, her popularity skyrocketed.
No matter how talented she was,
That wasn’t fair.
I’m working so hard, but I’m not receiving any love.
How can that two-faced middle schooler be adored so much? Isn’t that too unfair?
I’m obviously the victim here. No matter how hard I try, all I get is disregard and false accusations.
It wasn’t my fault I splashed water that time.
And I didn’t bully Siyeon to the point of making her cry.
If anything, I was the one being mistreated.
Being disrespected by a middle schooler in places without others around. Getting bruised during filming.
So why are you all taking her side?
Why do I have to be the one to get criticized…!
“Yuna unni!”
“…?”
Yuna’s hands were trembling in shock and frustration.
Suddenly, Siyeon approached her and gently grabbed her hand.
Everyone who had been criticizing Yuna just moments ago froze.
“At first, I was the most scared of you. You looked so cold and tall.”
Siyeon began speaking with a bright smile.
Draped in luxury, Siyeon shone brighter than anyone else.
It was as if she was truly a star.
“You often talked to me about acting. At first, I thought I was being scolded, so I was very scared. But…”
Yuna had never particularly said anything about acting.
Not her, nor anyone else.
Siyeon’s acting was already perfect.
The cast members all realized Siyeon was lying.
“Yuna unni took care of me more than anyone else. She taught me about acting, always praised me when I did well, and guided me through the parts I lacked. She always looked out for me on set. Thanks to her, I was able to do well in this drama without being a burden.”
“But in this video…”
“…”
“At the final script reading, I was so nervous that I messed up and cried, but Yuna unni came to me later and told me it was okay. She said I could do better during the actual shoot. That’s why unni and I are super close now.”
Ah…
A sigh escaped the audience.
Siyeon returned to her seat, smiling.
“Oh, wow! I didn’t know there was such a story behind the script reading. It seems like Siyeon and Yuna have a really close relationship,” the MC said, seizing the moment to ease the tension.
The commotion in the audience died down, and the production press conference resumed.
In the now cheerful atmosphere, Yuna was the only one whose expression didn’t look good.
‘…Why?’
Yuna knew better than anyone that Siyeon had lied.
She and Siyeon were not on good terms. There wasn’t a shred of loyalty between them to say such things.
That cunning middle schooler must have lied to save her, but…
Why did she do that?
Yuna stared at Siyeon, not understanding.
Siyeon was simply smiling and answering the audience’s questions.
“…Siyeon!”
After the press conference ended, Yuna stopped Siyeon.
“Yes?”
“What you said earlier, why did you say that? It was all a lie.”
Siyeon looked at Yuna with wide, innocent eyes.
Eyes that always felt strangely empty.
But today, they seemed clearer than usual.
“…Because I’m still young.”
“…Huh?”
And with that, Siyeon left for home.
Yuna stood blankly for a moment, watching the car drive away into the distance.
Siyeon left in a pretty decent SUV, indicating she had a personal manager.
Yuna took a taxi to return home.
“Oh my, oh my! Our daughter is trending as number one on the real-time search rankings!”
Her mom had been like this all day.
Sitting in front of the computer, searching portal sites and various online communities for any stories related to Yuna.
The real-time search rankings seemed to have risen due to the release of the production press conference videos.
Below that were names like Yuna and “Heirs” trending together.
[<Heirs> Production Press Conference: Newbie Actors and Idols Galore. Teaser Video Goes Viral Upon Release.]
[<Heirs> Yuna: Rumors of Mistreatment of the Youngest On Set? “She’s Such a Close Unni.”]
[“Kimchi-Slap Girl” Kim Siyeon: Turns Out She’s Just a Middle Schooler?]
[<Heirs> Kim Siyeon: Stealing the Spotlight Among Seasoned Actors. Fan Club Memberships Skyrocketing.]
[<Heirs> Behind-the-Scenes Film with Kim Siyeon: “Is This Really a Middle Schooler’s Acting?”]
[<Heirs> vs. <The One Inside Me>: SAS and KAS Romance-Comedy Clash at the Same Time. Who Will Come Out on Top?]
Looking over, it seemed a lot of articles were pouring out about the topic.
Her mom was busy saving and archiving each article.
Then, when she found related posts in online communities, she would leave comments on each one.
If there were any negative comments about Yuna, her mom would furiously type away at the keyboard, defending her.
Had her mom always been like this?
“Siyeon, why didn’t you tell me about this? Did she really splash water on you back then? Didn’t that actress bully you?”
The audience at the production press conference had been completely fooled, but her mom hadn’t been.
Though the performance felt slightly off, making it less convincing.
Still, for her mom to catch on, it showed she had a sharp eye.
“Not really. I handled it beforehand.”
“…Is that so? Good job, my daughter.”
“…Mom, I’m hungry.”
“Wait a minute? Actually, should we just order in today?”
“You said you’d make kimchi stew… Fine.”
She had been looking forward to eating her mom’s kimchi stew after a long time.
But her mom was too engrossed in the computer to think about cooking.
Of course, receiving meals like this was a favor Yuna would have to repay later.
But kimchi stew was something she couldn’t pass up.
And to think her mom could leave so many comments by herself.
Maybe her mom had a knack for gathering information, just like Dongsoo.
Speaking of which, she needed to talk to Dongsoo as well.
Not long after, the premiere date for <Heirs> approached.
“Hoo… We’ll be okay, right, director?”
“Of course! Right now, our buzz is through the roof. I’m even expecting a 15% rating.”
On the premiere day of <Heirs>,
Kang Shinyul and the production team were nervously waiting for the broadcast to begin.
They were confident, but they couldn’t let their guard down because of KAS’s <The One Inside Me>, which was airing at the same time.
Unlike <Heirs>, <The One Inside Me> boasted a lineup of major actors and had comparable buzz.
On the other hand, the cast of <Heirs> was relatively weak.
The current hype was largely thanks to writer Kang Eungsook and Siyeon.
But they couldn’t confidently say that alone would help them beat <The One Inside Me>.
“Man, if we pull this off, I’d have no regrets. But they have Kim Dohyun, don’t they?”
Actor Kim Dohyun.
An incredible actor with stunning looks, he was currently at the peak of his career.
Every project he had starred in as the lead had exceeded 30% in ratings.
The fact that Kim Dohyun was in <The One Inside Me> practically guaranteed its success.
“Exactly. Why does the competing drama have to star Kim Dohyun?”
Kang Shinyul pretended to be confident, but he was genuinely worried about that part.
No matter how talented Siyeon was as a rookie,
She was still just a middle schooler who had recently started to shine.
Beating Kim Dohyun with a newbie middle school actor was a tough task.
Although Siyeon was gaining attention, it was true that the public’s expectations leaned heavily toward <The One Inside Me>.
In comparison, <Heirs> was an experimental drama.
And as if to confirm those concerns,
The first-day ratings for <Heirs> stopped at 11%.
“Ah…”
“It’s okay. It’s just the first episode. There’s still tomorrow…”
The mood among the production team was gloomy.
The initial ratings were crucial for a drama.
Attracting as much attention as possible from the beginning was key to exploding viewership during the peak moments.
Compared to <The One Inside Me>, which had almost 20% ratings for its first episode, <Heirs> had underperformed.
“Let’s wait until tomorrow. Hey, no one check the viewer responses until then. It’ll just mess with your head.”
<Heirs> aired on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
It was still okay to monitor the trend through the second episode in the first week.
For their mental health, they deliberately avoided going online.
Kang Shinyul spent Thursday afternoon trying to calm himself.
And when nighttime came, it was time for <Heirs> to air again.
“Hoo… Please.”
The production team’s nerves were on edge once more.
Some hadn’t even gone home after the first-day ratings flop and had stayed at the broadcast station, waiting.
None of them had eaten a proper dinner; their stomachs were in knots.
Despite having shot a drama they were proud of with Kang Eungsook’s script,
The thought that it might fail at the box office left them unable to eat.
“Let’s go! Come on, guys!”
Everyone held hands with one heart and one mind, staring at the ratings graph.
At the start, it was around 13%, similar to yesterday.
It was definitely higher than yesterday’s.
“Hah…”
But that was by no means a satisfactory figure.
Of course, it wasn’t a bad number, but compared to the writer’s fame and the effort put in, it was disappointing.
The assistant director sighed in despair and even slumped down.
However,
As the drama progressed, the graph began to fluctuate.
The turning point came during a scene where Uriel had an emotional confrontation with Kim Tak.
“Oh, oh? Wait, wait a minute!”
Amidst the despair,
The youngest assistant director, who had been watching the graph, suddenly shouted.
“Why? What’s going on?”
“The ratings! The ratings!”
The previously slow and steady rise of the ratings graph suddenly spiked.
The ratings, which had slowly risen to 15%, jumped to over 25% within about 20 minutes of the broadcast.
“Wow, wow!! What’s going on? What happened?”
“The viewer response is incredible! It seems the reactions on the community yesterday were great!”
[Title: Huh?]
Did <Heirs> really beat <The One Inside Me> in ratings? I thought <Heirs> was much more fun.
Kim Dohyun is good, but honestly, the first episode was a bit much.
LOL. When I changed the channel, Kim Siyeon from <Heirs> was on.
Upvotes: 21 Downvotes: 2
I thought that too. <Heirs> episode 1 was so much fun, lol.
It’s like the flower boy vibe, but more sophisticated. But <The One Inside Me> is way too slow.
Honestly, Kim Siyeon’s acting was insane. How is she still in middle school? The low kick scene didn’t even show everything.
Exactly. She doesn’t look like a middle schooler at all.
But how is that possible with her appearance? She’s like from another world.
I’m just leaving now.
Where are you going? LOL.
I really don’t get the ratings for <Heirs>. All the actors are incredible!
“The people who watched yesterday’s episode reacted well, so it looks like viewers gathered around.”
“Wow! Yes! There’s no way this won’t work!”
“No matter how good Kim Dohyun is, how could he beat this!”
The production team cheered.
Kang Shinyul, feeling a sense of relief, could finally relax, wiping his chest.
Coincidentally, Siyeon was on screen, acting.
“Wow… Seriously, Siyeon’s acting. It’s unbelievable she’s a middle schooler.”
“It’s not that she’s good for a middle schooler. She just totally owns it.”
“Siyeon is a treasure, a treasure!”
Everyone was busy praising Siyeon.
Kang Shinyul felt the same.
The other actors were great too, but it was clear that this drama was being carried by that girl.
“Su, the ratings just surpassed 30%! <The One Inside Me> dropped to the 10% range!”
“We did it!!”
“Let’s goooooo!”
“Yaaay! Order anything you want! Let’s have a party today!”