Chapter 16: Script Flip

The variety show shoot wrapped up smoothly.

If there was anything notable, it was when the filming was almost over—

“You really seem like you’re gonna blow up. Let me get your autograph in advance. And a selfie, too.”

Heo Jonghoon asked Ki Taehun for three autographs—one for each of his kids.

That Saturday.

Only two days remained until the show’s first broadcast.

Once Working Man aired, trending searches were flooded with Ki Taehun and Butter Campus.

[Comments Section]

ㄴ[Even my mom asked who he was and burst out laughing.]

ㄴ[Sure, Taehun acts silly and lets himself be teased, but he’s actually super charming—always looking out for others.]

ㄴ[You mean when he opened a water bottle for Park Gayoung at the press conference? Aren’t they dating or something?]

ㄴ[Lol, she already denied it forever ago. You must’ve just logged onto the internet.]

ㄴ[Can he just quit acting and stick to variety shows? Please.]

ㄴ[God is fair. He took away Taehun’s acting and singing skills and gave him variety skills instead.]

ㄴ[He has to be in Yoo Jaehyung’s treasure box lineup.]

ㄴ[He’s seriously the best LOL I’m dying laughing.]

ㄴ[Now I get why Yoo Jaehyung wants him. He’s overflowing with charm, you guys. Did you see the post-credit scene?]

ㄴ[When he got all flustered over the underwear thing—he was adorable LOL]

ㄴ[Uhh… that’s kinda weird. You okay?]

ㄴ[Taehun hyung confirmed the triangle undies. Let’s go!]

ㄴ[He really wasn’t wearing any. Respect.]

ㄴ[Same here. I clicked Taehun right away LMAO]

ㄴ[After watching Working Man, I fell for Taehun T_T]

ㄴ[I want to see Taehun again on Working Man. If I watch Butter Campus, will that scratch the itch?]

ㄴ[It’s like everything led up to him.]

Reactions like these poured in nonstop.

As expected, Taehun once again proved to be a walking headline.

Thanks to him, Yoon Sungwoo’s phone was practically on fire.

“Ah, a schedule? Just a second. He has drama filming that day. Sorry? Can we reschedule?”

As calls kept pouring in, beads of sweat rolled down Sungwoo’s face.

Ki Taehun.

Even back when he landed the lead role in Tiamax, Sungwoo had never gotten this many calls.

“I’m really sorry. Please try again some other time—”

That was the tenth rejection call of the day.

Eventually, Sungwoo cautiously suggested to Taehun that maybe he should try to make time for some of the other shows.

But every time, Taehun made it clear that he wanted to focus on the project until the final shoot.

However…

‘Taehun. It’s getting harder to turn these down. Your value is skyrocketing.’

Demand kept climbing, and advertising rates were shooting up accordingly.

***

“Are all these calls for Taehun?”

Beom Actors CEO Oh Soobeom entered the office.

Since the company only had one actor, it was easy to guess.

But still—this volume of calls was hard to believe for just one person.

“Sir, what should we do? The money they’re offering is way too good to turn down.”

Sungwoo’s hands were shaking.

In this industry, you have to row while the tide is in your favor.

You never know when another chance like this will come.

‘Was it really okay to keep saying no?’

“Good.”

“Sorry?”

Soobeom’s reply was unexpected.

Given the company’s financial situation, they needed to make every penny count.

But he didn’t seem regretful about this decision.

Not as a CEO, and not as an older brother figure.

“Let Taehun do what he said. For an actor, acting is what matters most.”

“But still…”

“Don’t you trust him?”

“I do! I really do.”

Sungwoo clicked his tongue in frustration but answered the phone anyway.

“Yes. Sorry, but for now—”

Soobeom sat down at his desk, where a framed photo of him with Lee Jaejun, arms around each other’s shoulders, sat proudly.

‘Just like last time… the way he acts reminds me so much of Jaejun. It’s hard to dislike him.’

Whenever he saw Taehun, he couldn’t help but think of Jaejun.

Even their skill level was starting to align.

***

KBC wasn’t any less chaotic.

A Butter Campus assistant director burst into the PD’s office, panting.

“PD Choi! Emergency! Another article about Ki Taehun just dropped!”

“Is it good news?”

“Yes! Total good news. It’s going viral. The ratings pledge has people flooding the viewer forums so much the servers are crashing.”

Producer Choi grinned in satisfaction.

Nothing beats positive buzz.

“As expected from our star. He never disappoints.”

“Should I call Writer Ko?”

“Oh, yeah. Actually—I’ll do it myself.”

Once the assistant director stepped out, Choi picked up his phone, still riding the high.

Ring, ring…

Ring, ring…

“Why isn’t she picking up?”

***

At that moment, Go Eunjeong was staring at her screen, completely stuck on how to end Butter Campus.

With the show filming off short scripts until the very end, all she had left was the final scene.

Butter Campus was originally written to follow the love story between Sigyung and Yeonhee.

‘That was the plan, at least.’

But as filming went on, and Taehun’s portrayal of Kyungjun became more refined, his presence grew as strong as Lee Chaehyuk’s, who played Sigyung.

Because Taehun had elevated the charm of Kyungjun through his performance, Go Eunjeong couldn’t bring herself to let it go.

‘His standout acting made the story between Yeonhee and Kyungjun even more compelling. It gave the audience more emotional anchors and relatable moments.’

‘Is it really okay to do this?’

Changing the ending for an actor.

No—more precisely, changing the male lead.

“Haa… No wonder I’m going to die young.”

Writer Go Eunjeong looked into the mirror.

Her dark circles made her look especially haggard.

But she knew this: she couldn’t escape this state until she finished this script and delivered the perfect ending.

Go Eunjeong asked herself again and again.

‘What if I change the male lead now and end up getting backlash from viewers?’

But…

“You think you can endure it? I know I can’t.”

She had started writing Butter Campus with Lee Chaehyuk in mind.

But recently, her thoughts had kept drifting to Ki Taehun.

‘Did Taehun know? That without even realizing it, he was steadily climbing the ladder?’

From a minor audition role to a near-lead—and then, the true protagonist.

Go Eunjeong rolled up her sleeves and sat back down with renewed determination.

As both a drama writer and a viewer herself…

“Go Eunjeong can endure it, but Writer Go can’t. Isn’t that right, Go-writer?”

Without missing a beat, she answered her own rhetorical question, pretending to be someone else.

“Yup. I can’t endure it. I’m making Taehun the lead.”

So focused on her determination, she didn’t even notice the call from Director Choi.

The lights in Go Eunjeong’s studio remained on all night.

It wasn’t long before the final script for Butter Campus, including the ending, was complete.

***

Maybe it was the Working Man effect, but Butter Campus was a hit right from its premiere.

The expected ratings were in the low 2% range, but it started strong at 3.8%.

‘Was it the power of weekend variety shows? Whatever the case, it was a solid start.’

By the third episode, Ki Taehun’s debut scene had aired.

His acting didn’t just meet expectations—it shattered them.

The viewer forums lit up.

ㄴ[What even is Ki Taehun? He literally became Kyungjun. Is this character even fictional?]

ㄴ[He’s hands down the best actor in his twenties in Korea right now.]

ㄴ[Not the top yet, tbh. Remember Lee Jaejun and Jung Sungha?]

ㄴ[He’s more of a star than an actor. He just glowed.]

ㄴ[At this point, was the bad acting earlier all just a setup? Either way, he made his name known LOL. Unless the directors all had it out for him or something.]

ㄴ[Dude’s brain is insane. Seeing him on variety shows, his humor is top-tier among actors too.]

ㄴ[Is he that good? Should I give it a try? I usually hate those lovey-dovey dramas.]

ㄴ[I think the rest of the cast improved because of Ki Taehun too. If they acted like before, they’d have been totally invisible. No doubt.]

It wasn’t just his stellar acting that made Ki Taehun stand out.

The contrast with his previously viral ‘bad acting’ memes made people even more curious and engaged.

Even a previously unknown fortune teller who had predicted Ki Taehun’s success blew up in popularity.

“This guy’s destined to be an actor, huh?”

At the time, the YouTuber who asked for the reading had handed over a photo of the washed-up idol just to test the fortune teller for a comedy skit.

When the fortune teller said he’d be successful, the YouTuber uploaded it with mocking edits, claiming they’d exposed a fraud.

“This guy’s a singer, you know?”

The fortune teller scoffed.

“Wait and see. This summer, a whole new spirit of acting will enter this man’s body. It’ll be like a divine possession, just like with our kind.”

After that, the fortune teller went viral.

Anything Ki Taehun touched seemed to skyrocket in value.

The viewership for Butter Campus also kept climbing dramatically.

It had started at 3.8%, but by the end, it had sparked a full-blown Butter Campus syndrome—finishing with a massive 23.4% rating.

It completely shattered the usual limitations of a campus drama.

Even Director Choi’s comments at the press conference became a hot topic.

Just as he said, it truly became a moment where everyone took note of the name Ki Taehun.

Go Eunjeong let out a deep sigh of relief.

‘My instincts weren’t wrong.’

Viewers rooted for Yeonhee and Kyungjun to end up together.

Eventually, people even started a petition on the message boards, wishing for the “Yeon-Kyung Couple” to become canon.

The rewritten script shone brilliantly.

It was only near the end of filming that Taehun found out the final love line had been changed in his favor.

It might’ve been disappointing news for Lee Chaehyuk, but he didn’t raise any major objections.

They had all grown close during filming.

***

Then, Byun Yoohyun walked up to him.

“Um, Ki Taehun… Do you remember me?”

“Oh, of course. Byun Yoohyun, right? I even remember your role. You played Sunbae Seokhoon, didn’t you? Your acting was really solid. That’s why I remember.”

Byun Yoohyun looked flustered and honored at once as he spoke.

“The thing is… I’ve realized that you’re the direction I want to go in.”

“Me? What do you mean?”

“I want to use you as a role model. I want to learn from you. I want to become like you.”

Taehun was a bit taken aback.

‘Huh? That much?’

“From the variety shows to this drama, all I could see was you, Ki Taehun.”

‘This guy’s got good taste, I’ll give him that.’

[How annoying.]

Still, Taehun respected not just Yoohyun’s eye—but his attitude.

He was at least two years older than Taehun, physically, but he recognized talent and was eager to learn.

‘Not bad. I like that mindset.’

Taehun smiled and offered a handshake.

“It’s always great to encourage each other in this line of work. But I don’t know how much help I can be.”

After all, he was still just a rookie in the industry.

“Oh, just watching and learning from you is more than enough. That’ll help a lot.”

“Got it. It’s a shame we’re only meeting like this at the end of filming. Would’ve been nice to talk more.”

“Don’t worry. Oh, by the way, I used to be with JJ Entertainment.”

At the mention of JJ Entertainment, Taehun’s eyes sharpened.

‘JJ Entertainment? Did Sungha pick him?’

He had thought Yoohyun’s acting was pretty solid for a supporting role.

“I see. That explains a lot. You’ve probably had a good foundation.”

“Ah, I meant that’s my background. The basics are solid. But I’m with a new agency now—Beom Actors.”

“…Sorry, what?”

[You have acquired Byun Yoohyun. He is now your teammate.]

‘When did I acquire him?! And what even is Beom Actors? Why go that far?’

[That’s you☆]

An intense second recruit for the team.