Chapter 280: Jung Yoo-Jin's Showtime (2)
I could hear Kim Sung-Woon's excitement through the phone.
-27.4%!
The 8th episode of In the Name of God which aired last week had a viewership ratings of 21.2%. Today, the 9th episode jumped by more than 6% compared to last week.
Raising viewership ratings by 1% in the 20% range was exponentially harder than in the 10% range. However, the news that Yoo-Jin was actually Manshin Wol-Ah made this difficult feat possible.
'Surpassing 25% in just 9 episodes is amazing! It's a huge hit,' I thought to myself.
Suppressing my excitement, I asked, "And what about Festival of Money?"
-There's no need to worry about them anymore because the viewership rating gap is too big now. Their viewership ratings have dropped to 11.3%.
Not even the provocative plot by Hong Jang-Mi or So Yi-Yung's passionate performance could beat Yoo-Jin's surprising reveal.
This showed that while making a good drama is important, the real game was won through publicity. Our rival drama, Festival of Money, was designed to chase viewership ratings only. On the other hand, we managed to generate a huge buzz and pull ahead with a double score.
-I never imagined this would happen. I'll see you on set tomorrow!
"Yes, sir!" I replied enthusiastically.
Kim Sung-Woon said he was being called by the head of the drama department and ended the call.
After the call was over, I turned to Yoo-Jin and the Actor Division 2 staff and shouted, "It's 27.4%!"
"What? Come on~ No way!"
"Mr. Jung, you're kidding, right? How can the viewership ratings jump 6% in just one episode?"
Everyone looked skeptical.
I said to them, "I'm serious. It's not a joke."
Once I reassured them, the team members looked at each other for a moment before erupting in cheers.
"Wow! 27.4%?"
"Really~?"
"This is unbelievable... you're not joking, are you?"
In the Name of God reached an incredible viewership rating with just the 9th out of 24 episodes.
At that moment, everyone started hugging each other and cheering.
"Yoo-Jin, well done!"
"I knew she could do it. She was special even as a trainee."
In the midst of this, someone stood out.
"Sob Sob. Yoo-Jin~~"
It was Do Ran-Hee who started crying uncontrollably. Ran-Hee wasn't in charge of managing the actors but had a special affection for Yoo-Jin.
As Ran-Hee cried to the point of ruining her makeup, Yoo-Jin went over and hugged her tightly. Instead of the talent agent comforting the actress, the actress was comforting the talent agent.
"Ran-Hee unnie, stop crying. Why are you crying so much... sob sob," Yoo-Jin said in between sobs.
Tears began to fall from Yoo-Jin's eyes as she consoled Ran-Hee, who only cried harder in response.
Seeing this endless display of tears, I tapped Lee Yung-Jin's shoulder. "Hey, try to calm her down."
However, Lee Yung-Jin shook his head. "Ran-Hee can't be calmed unless you offer to buy her Hanwoo beef."
At that moment, Ran-Hee turned sharply with swollen and teary eyes. "Hanwoo?"
Startled, I waved my hands in denial. "No, no. You must have misheard me. I didn't say anything."
Ran-Hee wiped her tears and replied, "Sob. I thought you were offering me Hanwoo... Anyway, Yoo-Jin~ well done."
I should have treated everyone to Hanwoo beef on a day like today, but it was already too late.
'Alright, we'll have Hanwoo next time,' I thought.
Suppressing my disappointment, I asked Jung Sang-Bong to take Yoo-Jin home first.
Yoo-Jin looked puzzled. "What about you, oppa?"
"I'm working late tonight as I have things to finish up."
"Okay, but don't overwork yourself."
"Got it. Don't worry."
After saying goodbye, Yoo-Jin left the meeting room.
After watching Yoo-Jin leave, I headed to Kang Gam-Chan's office for the next step.
It was time to deal with Reporter Kang Ill-Gu.
***
[Jung Yoo-Jin. Deceiving viewers with clumsy acting to play dual roles...]
Bang!
Frustrated, Kang Ill-Gu slammed his fist on the desk as he wrote a negative article about Jung Yoo-Jin.
"Damn it! This is impossible!" he cursed.
The early morning call from Kang Gam-Chan jolted me awake at once.
He informed me that Kang Ill-Gu had been arrested just a few hours after we filed the complaint last night. This was thanks to the cooperative Lee Si-Yeon who wanted to save herself.
Fortunately, negotiations with Star Patch also went smoothly, ensuring no related articles were published.
The worry about Kang Ill-Gu was now completely gone.
After thanking Kang Gam-Chan, I immediately checked the internet.
A day had passed, yet the positive articles about Yoo-Jin were still increasing.
[Viewership Ratings Soars for In the Name of God!]
[Every Cast and Crew Were Fooled. Acting Genius Jung Yoo-Jin Shocks Korea!]
[An Unprecedented Project in TV Drama History: Jung Yoo-Jin Fooled the World!]
The articles continued to be published without any signs of decreasing, and Yoo-Jin's name remained at the top of the real-time search rankings.
"This is great," I remarked happily.
Feeling refreshed, I finished my shower and headed upstairs to wake Yoo-Jin.
Yoo-Jin greeted me with swollen eyes. "Oppa... when did you come back?"
"In the early morning. But why does your voice sound like that?"
"I couldn't sleep last night because all this feels like a dream."
Yoo-Jin said her heart was still racing from the excitement.
"Let's get those eyes to settle down first. Do you want to use an ice pack?"
Yoo-Jin responded cheerfully. "Yes~~"
I opened the freezer and took out a blue eye massage ice pack. After seating Yoo-Jin on the sofa, I placed the pack over her eyes.
Yoo-Jin shivered at the cold touch at first, but soon smiled as she spoke. "Yesterday felt like a dream, you know..."
I smiled and responded, "That dream will continue today."
"Today too?"
I nodded. "Yes. Yesterday was just the start. Today will be even crazier."
So far, Yoo-Jin was known as a talented supporting actress. But from now on, things would be different. After all, the title "acting genius" would precede her name.
At that moment, Miso appeared at the door. Rubbing her eyes and holding a Powertuff Girls doll, she politely bowed upon noticing us. "Good morning, Mom and Uncle Yoon-Ho!"
Miso had learned the idol-style greeting from Sae-Ri. After I responded with a polite bow, Miso happily climbed onto the sofa.
Miso pointed at the eye massage ice pack Yoo-Jin was wearing and asked, "Uncle Yoon-Ho, do I have one too?"
"Of course, Miso. Yours is pink."
Since Miso always tried to imitate Yoo-Jin, I had already prepared a pink eye massage ice pack for her.
"Here you go~!"
When I placed the ice pack on Miso, she let out a surprised squeal. "Oh, it's cold~!"
"Just hold on for a bit."
"Hmm~ okay..."
Miso gently held the ice pack with her tiny hands.
With both Yoo-Jin and Miso settled, I headed to the kitchen to make some detox juice. As I prepared three glasses and was about to serve them, I received a call from Jang Ji-Hye, the president of Womans Magazine.
When I answered the phone, I heard her urgent voice.
-Team Lead Jung! Why haven't you been answering your phone!?
"Oh, I'm sorry. Things have been crazy since yesterday, so I had my phone on silent and forgot to check it. My apologies."
With the phone ringing non-stop since yesterday, I hadn't looked at it unless I was making a call.
-Anyway, Team Lead Jung. What's this about?"
"What do you mean?"
When I asked what she meant, Jang Ji-Hye started complaining.
-If you had such a big story like yesterday, you should have told us first! We could have made it a special feature!
She was referring to the fact that Yoo-Jin was the cover model for the September issue of Womans Magazine, which was set to hit the shelves today.
However, that was impossible. Unlike online articles where we controlled the press releases, pre-printed magazines like Womans had too much risk of leaks.
I tried to explain the situation, but Jang Ji-Hye didn't seem to be in the mood to listen.
-Oh, silly me~ that's not the reason I called. The first print run of 50,000 copies is already sold out.
Jang Ji-Hye said that as soon as the magazines went online, they were sold out immediately.
"Congratulations," I replied.
Jang Ji-Hye's voice was still high-pitched with excitement.
-No, no, this is not a time for congratulations! The buyers of the September issue are collectively protesting!
Womans Magazine was currently being bombarded with complaints for an absurd reason.