Oh Bok-Hee called Han Sun-Myung and Yang Sung-Taek to the monitoring tent. Moments later, Han Sun-Myung and Yang Sung-Taek approached her hesitantly. They both had dark circles under their eyes, likely from not sleeping at all last night. However, Oh Bok-Hee didn't hold back and began to hurl harsh words at them. "I've dealt with all kinds of punks on set, but this is the first time I've seen a perpetrator pretending to be a victim. Hah... hey, Han Sun-Myung. You've lost your mind, haven't you?" "M-Mrs. Oh, I'm not that person, H." "What do you mean you're not!? All the articles from yesterday and today have your photo! Wow, this guy's unbelievable. Do you think I'm a fool?" Oh Bok-Hee's voice rang sharply through the tent. Reporters waiting in a corner of the set scoffed at Han Sun-Myung's excuse. -Ugh~ I must've been out of my mind to write an article believing that guy. -What's our editor thinking, telling us to write in support of a guy like that? -Hey, my article's blowing up with hate comments. They're calling me a trashporter again. That's the twelfth time just this year. -Moments make me want to quit being an entertainment reporter for good. -Didn't I tell you? When it comes to Chief Jung's actors, double and triple-check before touching the story. That guy never picks a losing fight. -Ugh, how was I supposed to know this would happen? -And that's why you're stuck where you are. With instincts like that, how can you even be a reporter? I ignored all our editor's orders. I didn't want to mess with Chief Jung. As the reporters chatted animatedly, Oh Bok-Hee turned to Yang Sung-Taek. "Oh, and you, Chief Yang." Already shriveled from all the scolding, Yang Sung-Taek quickly bowed his head. "Yes, Mrs. Oh." "Sun-Myung doesn't need to come back after tonight's night shoot. Notify your company." This meant Han Sun-Myung was being officially removed. Yang Sung-Taek's sleepiness disappeared in an instant, and his eyes widened. "Mrs. Oh, w-what are you saying? Sun-Myung's character Taecheong-Rang is supposed to appear until episode 40!" "After causing this kind of mess, do you still expect him to appear? Are you kidding me? Do you have any shame at all?" Oh Bok-Hee screamed that there was no way she could keep a school violence perpetrator on screen. Just then, the clueless Han Sun-Myung chimed in hesitantly. "Mrs. Oh, if I suddenly disappear, my fans won't stay quiet, you know?" Oh Bok-Hee snapped her head toward him. "What? Are you threatening me right now?" "No, that's not what I meant..." "If you don't want a lawsuit from the network, shut up and do as you're told! Got it?" Faced with Oh Bok-Hee's fierce threat, Han Sun-Myung nodded frantically. "Oh, and before you leave, shoot your death scene tonight. Understood?" That final line confirmed that Taecheong-Rang would die in tonight's episode. Han Sun-Myung couldn't hide the red and pale flush spreading across his face. Yang Sung-Taek also couldn't say a word. "And... I don't want to see your faces anymore, so get lost. But when you're called tonight, you'd better show up immediately!" The two of them left, dejected, without saying another word. At that moment, Geum Eun-Dong quickly offered a cup of cold water to Oh Bok-Hee and started fanning her. "Mrs. Oh, calm down. Whoa there~" "Ugh, I've really mellowed out over the years, seriously!" With those words, Oh Bok-Hee downed the water. After finishing it, she stood up from her seat. "Phew~ I guess I'll have to go inform the reporters that Taecheong-Rang is being dropped." Just then, Oh Bok-Hee turned to me as she was about to walk off. "Oh, and... Mr. Jung, please help me out when I call Ms. Han later." Now that Han Sun-Myung was out, script revisions were inevitable. We had to apologize to Writer Han Woo-Ju, who was currently working on Episode 30, and ask her to revise the script. That was what Oh Bok-Hee wanted help with. I nodded. "Understood." Oh Bok-Hee's face lit up. "In return, I'll make sure Deok-Bae gets a big push. I've even called in the Field Today! team for their 6 p.m. live broadcast to do a live interview." She said she would use the buzz around Deok-Bae, which was already filling entertainment news pages, to boost him even further. Although Deok-Bae hadn't even made his first appearance in Hwaranjeon, his life story was already dramatic enough to draw attention. True to her reputation as a viewership ratings genius, Oh Bok-Hee clearly knew how to drive viewership ratings. And if it worked, it could even bury the school violence articles about Han Sun-Myung that still made up half the entertainment news. Seizing the moment, I made one more suggestion. "Mrs. Oh, how about proposing a feature on Deok-Bae and Han-Ul for MBS Documentary 7 Days?" MBS Documentary 7 Days was a popular documentary series that competed with SBC's Human Story, following a subject for a full week. Its average viewership was around 6 to 8 percent, which was quite high for a documentary. "Oh~ that's a great idea. But... if we had video of Deok-Bae and Han-Ul doing an interview earlier, we could bring in the MBS Documentary 7 Days team right away and tease it as a preview..." I lifted my phone and gave it a little shake. "I anticipated that and filmed it already." Oh Bok-Hee's eyes widened. "Wow~ seriously. What would I do without you, Mr. Jung? Should I give you a kiss or something?" I definitely didn't want a kiss from Oh Bok-Hee, who hadn't slept properly in three days and looked completely disheveled. I backed away and forced a smile. "Hahaha.Ah, no need for that!" "What? Why are you backing away, Mr. Jung? What is it? Why are you acting like that?" "I just need to go have a talk with Han Sun-Myung." "Right... it's your turn now, huh?" "Just don't let it end up in the papers." I nodded and ran in the direction where Han Sun-Myung had disappeared. After all, there was something I absolutely had to say to that bastard. 'Bong-Pil, where are you? It's my turn now~.' When I arrived at Han Sun-Myung's waiting area, he was furiously kicking over chairs. Since most of the staff had gathered on set, there wasn't anyone around. "Fuck! I'm leaving right now! Don't try to stop me!" Even though Oh Bok-Hee had told him to stay, Han Sun-Myung shouted that he was going. Yang Sung-Taek, who had tried to stop him for a bit, now just scowled in silence. At that moment, I took a deep breath and called his name. "Han Sun-Myung." Han Sun-Myung turned his head sharply from where he was kicking chairs. "You son of a bitch, how dare you show your face here?" Yang Sung-Taek tried to stop Han Sun-Myung again. "Calm down! If you cause more trouble, it'll be unfixable, idiot!" Han Sun-Myung froze mid-step. "Ugh! You should be thankful I let you off easy." His smugness made me snort, but I had to say what I came here for. "A complaint will be arriving at your father's law firm soon, so sit tight and wait. Got it?" 'Shouldn't have messed with us, you bastard.' Han Sun-Myung scoffed. "Bullshit. I'm not even Korean. What complaint are you talking about?" "Foreigners can be sued too." Han Sun-Myung turned to Yang Sung-Taek. "Mr. Yang! Is that true?" "Well... I don't really know." Han Sun-Myung immediately pulled out his phone and called someone. "Dad! Did I get sued? Is that possible? Uh... uh... what? Seriously?" In that instant, Han Sun-Myung flung his phone to the floor. Maybe he really heard that he could be sued, because he clenched his fist and charged at me. Yang Sung-Taek, who was about to call the company, hurriedly reached out. "Sun-Myung! No!" But it was already too late. His fist was already flying toward my face. I could've easily dodged it, but I thought of a better idea. 'You're done for now.' I watched his slowly incoming punch till the end, then stepped back and dodged it. At the same time, I pretended to be hit and let myself fall backward while flailing my arms like I had been punched for real. It was a security camera-covered area, so I was putting on an action show. As I hit the ground, I clutched my left cheek and said, "You're assaulting me just because you're angry?" Then Han Sun-Myung, who had thrown the punch, stammered, "Huh? No... You didn't even get hit, though?" Still holding my cheek, I stood up. "You hit me and now you're saying you didn't? Well, it makes sense. You tried to bury Deok-Bae and still claimed you were the victim. A liar through and through." For a moment, I thought about filing another complaint. However, I decided to stick to the original plan. I marched straight up to him, stood close, and punched him in the stomach with my right hand just hard enough not to kill him. Han Sun-Myung dropped to his knees and clutched his stomach. "Urgh... urgh..." I picked a spot that wouldn't show bruises but would hurt like hell. Han Sun-Myung started bawling on the floor. I sneered, "It hurts, huh?" "I bet it does. But Deok-Bae was in much more pain than that. So get ready. Last time you got away, but not this time. This time, it's you and your father's HANS Law Firm going down together." Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚•𝕟𝕖𝕥 There was no way Han Ji-Cheol, the former judge and head of HANS, didn't know the illegality of what his son had done. Nevertheless, he backed his son because he believed in his own power. They thought their power would crush the powerless. But this time, that wasn't going to happen. After all, public opinion was on our side. "Damn it... you think... my dad... would lose to a nobody like you?" Just then, the article I had been waiting for from Reporter Ahn Tae-Baek's "Digging to the End" series went live. [(Digging to the End - Part 2) The father of famous actor Mr. H, currently appearing in Hwaranjeon, is the head lawyer of HANS Law Firm.] -HANS Law Firm, notorious for covering up dirty celebrity scandals, now revealed to have led the identity change of a school violence perpetrator's son. -The father also received a military exemption. -HANS founder Han Hyun-Moo, also exempted from military service. -Three generations of wealthy men, all exempt from military service? I smirked and flipped my phone around to show Han Sun-Myung. The article was already swarming with furious comments. "Everyone's going to catch hell because of you. Then again, this is karma. Your dad and grandfather made you this way." Han Sun-Myung lost it again. If he came at me again, I was ready to put on another show and throw another punch that still itched to be used. However, Yang Sung-Taek stepped in and held him back. "Sun-Myung. L-let's go. Hurry up!" "Let me go! Let me go!" Even forgetting the punch he just took, Han Sun-Myung thrashed around wildly. Yet Yang Sung-Taek forced him into the car, saying there was nothing to gain from picking another fight and it would only get him another beating. The two of them quickly got in the car and left the scene. Then I suddenly remembered that Oh Bok-Hee had told Han Sun-Myung not to leave until his final shoot. "Oh, right. He wasn't supposed to leave yet." I figured I should tell her Han Sun-Myung just bailed on the night shoot. And I would throw in a "Well, it's not my fault!" while I was at it. When I returned to the set and took in the atmosphere, Oh Bok-Hee seemed busy giving interviews to reporters. While I waited briefly, Kang Gam-Chan called. -Yoon-Ho, how's the situation on site? "Han Sun-Myung's been officially removed. By the way, have there been any complaints from HANS Law Firm?" -Complaints? Not a chance. Their president immediately offered to settle. -Yeah. It seems like they're scared of public backlash. They offered five hundred million won to make everything disappear. So here's the thing—why don't you ask Deok-Bae? That kind of money could really help the elderly in the shantytown, right? Deok-Bae had been using his signing bonus from the agency to help the elderly residents of the shanty town, and five hundred million won would be an enormous help. However, I had one concern. "Mr. Kang, I kind of... lightly tapped Han Sun-Myung earlier. Will that be okay?" -Tapped? You hit him? "Hit? No, it was mutual. Totally mutual." -Is it going to be a problem? Like... broken bones or something? -Is that so? Good. Then you did well. Brats like him need to be hit to come to their senses. And anyway, they already signed the contract, so it's fine. "Understood. I'll check with Deok-Bae and get back to you." I ended the call and went to Deok-Bae to bring up the five hundred million won settlement offer. Upon hearing the news, Deok-Bae's eyes widened. "Five hundred million won?" Deok-Bae turned to the oldest member of the group, Song Ill-Seop. "Grandpa. With five hundred million won, I could probably help you when you move into your new apartment, right?" Currently, the shantytown was planned for redevelopment and the government had promised to relocate the residents to public rental housing. However, Song Ill-Seop cut Deok-Bae off and looked around. "Folks, do we need money? The bastard who tormented Deok-Bae wants to make it go away with money." Then the elderly folks all scoffed. "We don't have much time left anyway. What do we need money for?" "When we move into rental apartments, the government gives support money anyway. We're good~" "I don't want a single penny from the guy who bullied Deok-Bae." They were thinking of Deok-Bae more than the money. Song Ill-Seop nodded, saying he knew they'd say that, then smiled at Deok-Bae. "Deok-Bae, don't take that money for our sake. Walk forward proudly. Don't ever take money from scum like that for your own future." Suddenly, Deok-Bae trembled lightly and bowed his head. "Thank... you. Grandpa, Grandma... I'll make it. I promise I'll pay back your kindness." I also stood by Deok-Bae, bowed my head, and added, "Don't worry, everyone. Deok-Bae will become such a great actor that five hundred million won won't even make him blink." At that moment, Song Ill-Seop came up and held my hand. When I looked up, he and the others beside him were smiling warmly. "We don't have much time left in our life. Please help Deok-Bae live the life he wants. I'm counting on you." His hands were rough but warm. Receiving that warmth, I replied respectfully, "I promise. I'll make Deok-Bae the best actor in Korea!" [(Breaking) MBS' Executives Confirm Han Sun-Myung's Removal from the Role of Taecheong-Rang!] [MBS' PD Oh Bok-Hee: "Han Sun-Myung's exit will have no impact on the future story development."] [Choi Deok-Bae, the victim of violence committed by Han Sun-Myung. Reexamined by the MBS Documentary 7 Days team! Trailer to air tonight at 9:53 p.m. (Subtitle: The Life of the Handsome Brothers)] Once MBS took action, attention on social media and forums shifted from Han Sun-Myung's school violence to Deok-Bae and his brother. And I informed Kang Gam-Chan that Deok-Bae had no intention of dropping the charges. After all, we had to give back exactly what we received. Time passed, and it was now 9:50 p.m. Oh Bok-Hee looked at me and asked, "Do you know where the writers are right now?" Since Han Sun-Myung had been removed, we had to start additional filming tonight, which meant we needed the revised script. Han Woo-Ju was currently on her way to the set with writers Kim Soll-Ip and Lee Ji-Yeon, writing as they came. "She said they're at Dongdaegu Station." "Oh~ then they'll be here soon." "Don't worry too much. I'm sure the viewership ratings didn't drop tonight." "Sigh... I hope you're right..." Just then, it was 9:53 p.m. The emergency trailer for MBS Documentary 7 Days aired to prevent the viewership ratings from dropping due to the school violence scandal involving Han Sun-Myung. It was a 5-minute preview of next week's special segment, "The Life of the handsome Brothers – Deok-Bae and Han-Ul." The staff all clasped their hands together and began to pray as they watched the video. With Han Sun-Myung, once dubbed one of the Hwarang F4, now revealed as the perpetrator of school violence and acting like a victim, there was no doubt that viewership ratings would normally plunge. So everyone was hoping Deok-Bae's life story and the buzz surrounding him would cover up the school violence issue. A moment later, MBS Documentary 7 Days ended. In just two minutes, episode 13 of Hwaranjeon would begin airing. Oh Bok-Hee turned to Geum Eun-Dong, who was on the phone, and asked, "Eun-Dong, what were the viewership ratings for MBS Documentary 7 Days?" "They said the viewership ratings aren't out yet." "Because it was an emergency broadcast, they said the research firms couldn't collect the data in time." "They said they'll have the viewership ratings in about five minutes." "Ugh, but by then, Hwaranjeon will already have started!" She stomped her feet in frustration, but both research firms gave the same answer, so there wasn't much we could do. In the end, we had to face the viewership ratings for episode 13 of Hwaranjeon without knowing anything beforehand. "Hwaranjeon episode 13 is starting~" Episode 12 had peaked at a 26.7% rating, and now everyone watched nervously, praying for what episode 13 would bring. 'Please, don't let the viewership ratings drop...' One minute later, the moment we had been waiting for—the viewership ratings for the first minute of Hwaranjeon episode 13—was released.