When a person hears sothing too absurd, it can actually snap them back to reality.
That was exactly what happened to Ha-eun—currently having both her cheeks squished like mochi by Da-yeon.
“...You’re seriously not pregnant, right?”
“H-How in the world would you even jump to that conclusion...?”
Just minutes ago, Ha-eun had still been a little tipsy.
But the mont Da-yeon started grilling her with bizarre assumptions she’d never once imagined...the buzz vanished completely.
Ha-eun shook her head quickly, left to right, denying every last one of Da-yeon’s wild guesses.
Then she countered—why would she even think sothing so ridiculous in the first place?
And so, the full story behind the “Ha-eun is pregnant” debacle was finally revealed.
“Well, you said your stomach felt weird... and you said you ssed up... I thought you saw two lines on a test and started panic-drinking.”
“...That’s horrifying...”
Shaking her head again, Ha-eun denied every possibility Da-yeon had conjured up.
Only then could she finally bring herself to talk about what actually happened—with The Chairman’s Youngest Son.
Her voice gradually grew quieter, uncertain whether she’d done the right thing... or caused a total ss.
“Yesterday, I had a eting with SL Group...”
She ended up voicing her personal concerns about The Chairman’s Youngest Son directly to SL Group.
For instance—there were too many script changes.
Or that it felt noticeably different from the original novel, which she’d really enjoyed.
And she wasn’t sure if any of it had even been discussed with the original author.
“They said they’d look into it on their end, but... what if they cancel the drama or sothing?”
She confessed that she felt like she might’ve crossed a line no actor should.
There was probably going to be corporate pressure from SL Group...but she couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.
Da-yeon didn’t answer right away.
Instead, she blinked, then let out a stunned sigh, followed by a dry, flat voice.
“You already pulled the pin—now you’re worried about the grenade?”
She muttered that Ha-eun was stressing over nothing.
Then, like she was punishing her, gave Ha-eun’s cheeks another firm tug.
-Squish!
“Uuhh... I was just being siwwious... don’ be so... viowent...”
“There are better things to take seriously, y’know.”
Then Da-yeon laid it out clearly—
There was nothing Ha-eun could do now that would really change the outco.
Whether SL Group intervened, the script got revised, or the drama got scrapped...all they could do was wait and see.
“What’s the issue? You thought the script was weird, so you said it was weird. There are actors who cancel roles outright after reading a bad script.”
“B-But wouldn’t that be rude...?”
“That’s not being rude—it’s having the right. Who wants to act in a ss?”
For soone like Ha-eun, even a direct request to fix the script wouldn’t count as a diva move.
All she did was say she’d prefer sothing closer to the original.
If they didn’t like it, they could drop her. There were plenty of other dramas waiting.
“Why are you getting timid about the wrong stuff? If you think it’s weird, then it is weird.”
Da-yeon let out a sigh and scolded her.
Ha-eun had always underestimated her own status and influence.
But then—
“The person at the eting said... they’re a fan of mine.”
“So? Fans aren’t allowed?”
“...They said they’re a Diah fan...They... seed to watch my streams often...”
“...Huh.”
Da-yeon went quiet after hearing that Ha-eun had basically been outed by a viewer.
So during this eting with SL Group, one of the higher-ups... turned out to be a Noeuli.
It kind of made sense now—why Ha-eun had been sulking at the cocktail bar.
“If a random older guy told he watched my streams, I’d feel weird too.”
“He’s not that old! Maybe... twenty-four? Twenty-five? That’s not an ‘older guy’!”
“Why are you getting defensive about it?”
In any case, Da-yeon managed to calm Ha-eun down and helped steady her out of the cocktail bar. But she stopped dead in her tracks halfway out—
-Creak─.
-Clatter!
“...Huh?”
A familiar face burst into the bar looking just as panicked as Da-yeon had earlier.
And now, seeing both Ha-eun and Da-yeon standing together, Yoo Seong-jae looked utterly confused.
“...Why are you here?”
“I heard Ha-eun got into so kind of trouble, so I ca to check...”
And the rest of the story... well, it wasn’t entirely absurd.
Before Da-yeon had arrived, Seong-jae had also gotten a call.
As the lead actor of The Chairman’s Youngest Son, he’d heard talk of issues with the script at SL Group’s eting.
Soone told him to co in person to hear the full story.
“They said they’d explain in person, so I ca. But uh, what about you, Da-yeon?”
“...Just how many people are you making worry over nothing?”
When she realized Ha-eun had also called Seong-jae, Da-yeon smacked her lightly on the forehead and gave her another scolding.
“You went crying to everyone over sothing this minor?”
“That’s not fair—it’s my drama that might get canned.”
“...It’s not gonna get canceled. Co on.”
***
“The whole thing’s a ss. Honestly, this drama would’ve been better off not being made.”
“...Excuse ?”
KBC Drama Bureau’s conference room.
Present at the table were the original author of The Chairman’s Youngest Son, the scriptwriter, and the head director.
It was just monts before disaster would break loose.
The reason? Simple.
After reading through the script, the original author, Seo Haeyeon, sat cold-faced and demanded the entire production be scrapped.
“W-Wait, Writer Seo, you can’t say that now—”
“I have to say it now. You’ve turned this into a completely different story.”
To be fair, Seo Haeyeon had been inford that the drama would undergo so adaptations.
What she hadn’t been told was what exactly those adaptations entailed.
“The the isn’t even the sa. Why should I accept a script that ignores the core of my story?”
Realizing just how many differences there were between the script and her original novel...
It felt like soone had smacked her in the back of the head.
The script she was holding right now had nothing in common with her work except for the character nas.
Not that she was against adaptations as a whole.
Novels and visual dia were two entirely different formats.
She understood that so changes were inevitable in the process of turning her story into a TV series.
In fact, it was rare for an author to take such a hard stance once adaptation rights had been sold.
Technically, the story had left her hands the mont the deal was signed.
“Fix it, or scrap it. Those are the only two options.”
And the script Seo Haeyeon had ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) just read—
It was so incoherent and misaligned with the source material, even the concept of “professional courtesy” felt irrelevant.
Normally, a novelist’s complaints wouldn’t carry much weight.
But Seo Haeyeon wasn’t alone in that room.
Sitting behind her was an SL Group executive—the largest sponsor for The Chairman’s Youngest Son.
The production company had already been inford:
If Seo Haeyeon’s stance was ignored, SL Group would intervene.
‘Why now, after being silent all this ti...?’
‘We have no idea either.’
‘...Though honestly, the script was kind of a stretch...’
From the production side, it was already a lost battle.
The biggest sponsor had taken a stance—there was no room for negotiation, even if no threats were made directly.
To make matters worse, word had started to spread within the upper echelons of KBC’s drama departnt.
Though details remained murky, talk of replacing the production staff was gaining montum.
First to fall: the scriptwriter.
“What? Replaced? That’s just—!”
“Writer Park. Seriously—do you really think this is unfair?”
The one who delivered the decision was the series’ head director, Cha Sun-ho.
Park Min-ah, the scriptwriter, bit her lip.
She’d been open to revising the entire script—but now they were firing her?
Ever since Seo Haeyeon walked in with an SL Group rep, Park had been visibly displeased.
Now she was being ousted from the very drama she had crafted herself?
“We’ve concluded that the initial concept itself was flawed. And given your past issues... we’re going ahead with the replacent.”
“What the hell is this?! You gave this script the greenlight before—!”
Park kept protesting.
She called it an unfair decision.
She couldn’t accept that SL Group was exerting pressure on what was supposed to be a creative process.
She argued passionately... but ultimately in vain.
All she could do was walk out of KBC, her face etched with disbelief.
‘...Maybe this is for the best.’
Watching her retreat, Director Cha cented his decision.
After all, the person who’d caused this stir in the first place... was Ha-eun.
Compared to Park Min-ah—who was still clinging to the success of a single past hit—Ha-eun and the influence of SL Group behind her were the obvious choice.
“It was never a fair fight to begin with. How does she not see that?”
Ha-eun had been the actress to finally end KBC’s long drought of hit dramas.
When Moonlight Divided by the Clouds beca a smash success, KBC not only celebrated internally, but top brass began favoring Ha-eun openly.
Now with God and Goblin, she’d surged again.
The fact that she was returning to KBC after two years—and teaming up with Yoo Seong-jae—was monuntal.
So when Ha-eun expressed her discontent with the script, there was no way it could be taken lightly.
‘Delaying the broadcast is better than airing a flop.’
When soone who never complains does complain—you take it seriously.
And if the ever-professional Ha-eun raised a red flag over the script, then clearly the problem lay with the script.
And while this whirlwind was unfolding behind the scenes at KBC Drama Bureau...the very person who started it all, Ha-eun, was currently—
-Whoosh!
“Whoa!”
“You okay, Da-yeon? The extinguisher’s over there.”
“...The fact that sothing caught fire is the issue, no?”
Ha-eun was out in the open-air lot of a Seoul studio, watching a flashy fire show with Da-yeon.
They were filming a YouTube video:
a review of The Guy Next Door, paired with a barbecue party and an on-the-spot interview.
“How do you like your steak?”
“dium for . What about you, Da-yeon?”
“I’m a well-done girl.”
“Isn’t that too dry?”
“If the at’s red, that’s not steak—it’s tartare.”
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