In the broadcasting world, popularity equates to power.
The show Playlist succeeded in recruiting star players Yeom Junyeol and Choi Jina as hosts, and the public showed great interest in it thanks to the unique concept of giving players a chance to achieve their dreams.
By the time the third episode was about to air, the show ratings were close to the second place spot, s were sold out, and requests for product placement (PPL) flooded in.
With the show’s booming popularity, the staff members’ and production team’s arrogance grew.
Even when the players are being treated unreasonably by the staff, the players can’t say anything to them so as to not to risk their dreams being crushed.
“We already have permission to film, so why are you holding us up like this? Who cares about the Hwangmyeong Foundation? What you’re doing right now is assault and intimidation. Do you know how many cameras are filming right now? Do you want to start a fight right now?”
The assistant director was shouting at the Hwangmyeong Foundation employee.
Just like the main PD who fainted, the assistant director had the same ideals and attitude.
He thought that since the Playlist program is on a roll, the staff and production team would be invincible and could do anything that they pleased.
Even with Dokgo Miro, although they had made several rude remarks to her, she could only accept it with a smile.
But she remembers the faces and names of those who she think crossed the line.
“…Hey, maknae, I’m talking with someone right now. I can’t take any phone calls because we’re filming already. Huh? …It’s a call from the director?”
With a pale face, the youngest staff asked the assistant PD to take the call from the entertainment director.
The assistant PD took the call without bothering to excuse himself from the Hwangmyeong Foundation employee.
“Hello, Director! I was actually about to contact you…”
The assistant PD was speaking with a loud voice as if to flaunt that he was friends with the entertainment director.
But after a few moments, all expressions disappeared from the assistant PD’s face.
The two spoke with a device earring, but everyone could hear the roar of anger coming from the entertainment director.
It was so loud that even the students who passed by stared at the assistant PD.
Judging from the situation, it seems like some companies are directly threatening the entertainment director that they would remove all their investments and s because of the events today.
The production team acted like gangsters and caused controversy in front of Eungwang High, which made the companies concerned about severe brand value damage.
Not only is the Hwangmyeong Group considering removing all s for Playlist, they’re also threatening to withdraw all investments on other projects.
‘Chairman Lee is famous for being a nerd who only works on campus. Of course, they’d get a lot of trouble for making a scene right in front of the school where the Chairman stays. But is the Hwangmyeong Group usually this sensitive to this kind of trouble? They usually just not pay mind to things that aren’t very serious.’
Dokgo Miro was quite bothered, but she’s happy with the foundation’s prompt response.
If she were dealing with the situation alone, Hani and the other kids would’ve been easily undermined.
“…I think both sides have made their mistakes. Let’s put this behind our backs.”
“Both sides? What mistake do you think the foundation made?”
“…I apologize.”
Since Playlist was a big show, there were several assistant PDs to the main PD.
The assistant PD and writers in charge of Dokgo Miro were the most disorganized among all the staff.
They’re only strong against the weak but weak against the strong.
The assistant PD tried to paint a picture where both parties had faults, but he eventually had to throw away his pride and began to grovel.
While all that was happening, the device on his ear was still conveying the angry words of the entertainment director.
As everyone was so distracted, the thought of sending the fainted PD to the emergency room slipped everyone’s minds.
The PD was still lying unconscious on the street.
Dokgo Miro felt very relieved.
‘I don’t feel sorry for that at all. Looks like my mind is still healthy.’
Dokgo Miro believed that only those with Stockholm syndrome feel sympathy for their abusers.
She was relieved that her mind was still very sound, but it was difficult for her to act naturally.
It finally sunk in that she was within school grounds.
The Hwangmyeong Foundation made the filming team put down their cameras, but Dokgo Miro still couldn’t smile.
“It’s alright now.”
It was Jo Euishin, the one who led the main PD right to the boundary, who spoke to Dokgo Miro.
‘He’s one of the kids that Yeom Junyeol sunbaenim introduced. Did he say he was the vice president or something?’
She’s not sure if Jo Euishin deliberately made this situation happen, but thanks to him, they were able to protect their classmates from being filmed without permission.
However, she can’t thank Jo Euishin out loud right here as that would imply that he did it on purpose.
“Let’s go to the classroom.”
As Jo Euishin signaled, the kids all walked to the classroom.
While heading to the classroom, everyone peacefully shared the snacks bought by Hani and Saeum of April.
Dokgo Miro had the soufflé pancakes with pomegranate eggs sprinkled with syrup and plain yogurt.
It was so delicious that she didn’t pay any mind to how many calories she was consuming.
She doesn’t know how to express it other than saying it was delicious.
‘It’s delicious, but I can’t describe specifically how it tastes.’
She felt very strange doing such a thing in school and in the classroom.
She’s seen this kind of thing somewhere else, but it’s the first time that she experienced such a good relationship with other kids herself.
When the assembly began, the homeroom teacher with a rough face appeared.
Unlike Dokgo Miro’s expectation, the homeroom teacher Ham Geunhyung didn’t say a word about her attendance.
He said that he enjoyed watching the show.
‘…This is nice.’
The planned filming of Dokgo Miro’s school life didn’t push through in the end.
It was only for one day, but Dokgo Miro forgot about filming for a while and spent her day as an ordinary student.
She wondered if the vice president, who said “it’s alright now” with a suspicious smile, meant something deeper.
And just as the vice president said, after that day, her life was in quite a decent situation.
* * *
A few days later, Hwang Jiho made a tip.
— The director of the entertainment department came to me personally to tell me that the assistant PD has been replaced.
One of the reasons why that assistant PD completely acted like a gangster was because the Hwangmyeong Group had never exerted its power over the broadcasting station.
However, the influence of the Hwangmyeong Group, especially with the Yellow Tiger personally pulling the strings, was enormous.
The broadcasting station laid low after the incident caused by the assistant PD.
‘Now Dokgo Miro wouldn’t be discriminated against anymore.’
The program was now being run under the influence of the Hwangmyeong Group, and Dokgo Miro is a student at Eungwang High run by the Hwangmyeong Foundation.
Anyone who dares to treat Dokgo Miro unjustly would face consequences from the Yellow Tiger.
‘Anyone who causes a scene in front of Eungwang High and blatantly disrespects its students might as well fight with the Hwangmyeong Foundation itself.’
Aside from the foundation, Yeom Junyeol responded too.
Yeom Junyeol sent me these messages that day.
[Yeom Junyeol] Hello, teacher.
[Yeom Junyeol] Did you happen to hear about the incident in front of the Eungwang High gate this morning?
[Yeom Junyeol] I actually pitched in the idea that it would be nice to film inside Eungwang High. I voted in favor of it and… I apologize for all the trouble it brought.
It seems like the assistant PD also attempted to swindle Yeom Junyeol.
The filming was set to start at 12 o’clock, but the PD seemed to have intended to film Yeom Junyeol while he was unprepared.
‘They really only wanted to film the famous players in Eungwang High. They weren’t interested in Dokgo Miro from the start.’
Yeom Junyeol briefly explained the situation and sent a frustrated Hongryong stamp.
I told him that it wasn’t his fault, but he still took thorough follow-up measures.
In particular, he was worried about his hoobae Dokgo Miro.
He seemed to have done his best to get a fair-minded assistant PD and writer to join the staff in charge of Dokgo Miro.
The considerate Yeom Junyeol didn’t mind the potential backlash from the Red Lion and Dragon Clan and even his fans.
He did what he could for Dokgo Miro.
Even so, Dokgo Miro’s debut still seems like a tough journey.
‘The results last time weren’t good either. If this keeps up, she’d be eliminated in the next round.’
Audition programs usually run for 10 to 11 weeks.
The Playlist program is conducted with real-time voting.
Audiences can vote through an application with a real-name authentication function.
The program is in its fourth week, and Dokgo Miro was still holding out.
She doesn’t seem to be treated unfairly anymore, but she hasn’t escaped from the bottom ranks yet.
She received a lot of reviews from viewers.
[Honestly, her face would be in high demand. It’s a virtuous image. But she doesn’t have talent. None at all.]
[Wow, she’s like a mannequin kekeke but she can’t make eye contact with the camera; She can dance well but she can’t sing at all kekekeke I almost became a fan but after hearing her sing… kekekeke]
[Her pretty face’s a waste. She has good body proportions and looks cute, but she’s so untalented. She already looks like she practiced a lot though.]
[It doesn’t look like she’s practicing how to sing. She only practices dancing.]
[Even her dance looks subtle. It doesn’t match with the camera work.]
Blunt criticism continued to be thrown at Dokgo Miro.
Even though she practices hard, it doesn’t seem like she can show it in front of a camera.
It’s a fatal weakness for aspiring idols who have to face the camera throughout most of their careers.
And, as a contestant in a competition program, she has to show her appeal to the viewers over the screen.
Having camera phobia was a hopeless level of weakness.
‘Still, let’s do what we can do.’
What I could do now was to visit the Hwangmyeong mansion.
When I opened the front door, the descendants welcomed me.
“Euishin hyung! Come in!”
“You said the new semester started right? How’s school?”
“The vacation passed by too quickly. I thought we could meet and talk often before vacation ended…”
The kids looked sad even as they greeted me warmly.
I thought I came to the mansion to hang out with them often, but it looks like they felt that it was still lacking.
Considering the events that will take place in the second semester, I won’t have time to hang out with them anymore.
‘Since we won’t get to see each other often, I wish we could set a whole day just to play with them.’
I felt sorry and thought of ways to make it up to them, but all thoughts soon left my mind because of the precious angel rubbing his body on my feet.
I haven’t seen my angel Olmu in a while, and he looks cooler and cuter now.
Perhaps thanks to the customized medicine, his fur seemed to be more fluffy and shiny than real cotton.
I diligently complimented Olmu on how wonderful he looked today.
“…Even in the second semester, your intelligence still seems to be declining, Jo Euishin.”
I thought Hwang Jiho was already in the living room, but I heard the voice from behind.
The voice spoke the same way as Hwang Jiho, but it was more childlike.
‘Don’t tell me… That one’s Hwang Jiho?!’
As I looked back, I looked at the child who seemed to be the youngest of the three descendants.
His delicate eyes looked exactly like Hwang Jiho’s.
