TL: Aniea
"Hello, CEO-nim!"
"Good afternoon-!!"
The production crew, stepping off the bus, simultaneously bowed deeply upon seeing Kim Eun-ha, who had personally co out to greet them.
It wasn’t as though anyone had told them to do so, but the instincts of social etiquette ingrained in their DNA made it happen naturally.
"Welco! You all must have worked so hard coming all the way here with your tired bodies."
Smile-
Kim Eun-ha, flashing a radiant smile as she received their greeting, caused not just the n but even the won to clutch their hearts, shaking their heads in disbelief.
"Oh no, it wasn’t that hard. We were all in first-class seats and slept like babies. Who would have thought you’d send not one bus, but three?"
"The whole way here, the roads were completely dominated by Peaceful Chaebol Life ads. Honestly, I caught the eyes of at least a dozen people who were sneaking a look out their car windows."
"There are already photos of us circulating on social dia. It feels almost wasteful to use sothing this extravagant for just one day, doesn’t it? Hahaha...."
Led by Kang In-ho and Jung Ha-rin, the production crew took turns complinting her as if on cue.
There might have been a bit of exaggeration mixed in, but it all stemd from genuine admiration. Even from the perspective of the recipient, it didn’t feel off-putting.
However, as Kim Eun-ha listened quietly, she tilted her head slightly in thought.
"Ah, didn’t I ntion this before?"
"Huh?"
"You’ll be using these buses for the entire duration of the Peaceful Chaebol Life shoot. The bus drivers will operate in two shifts, so they’ll take you anywhere, anyti."
"......?"
At Kim Eun-ha’s words, the production crew collectively tilted their heads in confusion. They glanced back and forth between the buses and her face, only to finally understand what she ant.
"...Good heavens."
"...Are you saying these are ours?"
"...For the entire filming period!?"
As the staff widened their eyes in disbelief, Kim Eun-ha continued in a calm tone, as though it were the most natural thing in the world.
"I heard your schedule is so tight that you have to relocate several tis a day. And I was told you’re often short on vehicles, so you end up cramd in with your equipnt?"
"Wow, you’re spot on."
"It’s pure hell, no doubt about it."
"Mmhmm."
At her words, everyone nodded with teary-eyed expressions.
While the broadcasting company did its best to provide support, they couldn’t prioritize just one team’s conditions. This often left their working environnt less than ideal.
To save ti, they divided into ABC teams, pre-setting equipnt at each location and moving as lightly as possible, but
‘Realistically, it’s impossible to manage.’
‘It’s like having our own sauna on wheels.’
‘I can never get used to that oppressive heat.’
Still, there were essential materials they had to move together, and with a shortage of vehicles, everyone was always cramd in, packing the vehicles to their limits.
The result? Their bodies ended up stiff and sore, with no chance of restful sleep. On top of that, the mingling of sweat and other bodily odors made for a living hell.
"Ohhh! Our Goddess!"
"Kim Eun-ha! Kim Eun-ha! Kim Eun-ha!"
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
Having received an unexpected gift, the staff exploded with adrenalin, their behavior almost resembling a scene from a cult.
"Make sure to thank Woo-ju oppa. He’s the one who asked to do this, saying you all were struggling in such harsh conditions."
"......!!"
Whoosh-
As soon as Kim Eun-ha spoke, all heads turned sharply in one direction. There stood Kang Woo-ju, as expressionless as ever.
Yet even for soone like him, the hundreds of eyes radiating unhinged fervor were overwhelming.
Although he didn’t show it outwardly, he subtly averted his gaze and locked eyes with Kim Eun-ha.
‘You did this on purpose, didn’t you?’
‘Of course I did. What would I gain from receiving gratitude from the crew? It’s far more efficient to use it to improve your image, Woo-ju oppa.’
‘Seriously...’
Reading her thoughts through her gaze, Kang Woo-ju shook his head internally in defeat.
"Kang Woo-ju! Kang Woo-ju! Kang Woo-ju!"
"So cool! So handso! So sexy!"
"Lovable even at a glance!"
anwhile, the production crew’s excitent was growing, their behavior increasingly consud by fervent energy. Kang Woo-ju, sensing that things might spiral out of control if this went on, slowly raised his right hand.
All eyes naturally followed his movent. When Kang Woo-ju clenched his hand tightly into a fist mid-air, the noisy scene abruptly fell silent, as if by magic.
Before the sudden quiet could devolve into awkwardness, Kang Woo-ju quickly spoke.
“It’s almost ti to begin. Let’s head inside.”
“...Yes!”
As if under a spell, everyone nodded in unison. They began moving into the building, following the prearranged signs for guidance.
Watching this unfold from the back, Kim Eun-ha approached him with a smile tugging at her lips.
“Not bad.”
“I learned it from you, Eun-ha ssi.”
“You sure know how to say sweet things.”
“That’s a natural talent of mine.”
“...This is why I can’t complint you.”
Heh-
Despite her words, Kim Eun-ha’s face was bright with amusent. Seeing her expression, a soft curve ford at the corner of Kang Woo-ju’s lips as well.
“You should head in before you’re late, Woo-ju ssi. You haven’t had dinner yet, right? There are snacks set up inside that’ll be perfect to eat while watching the drama, so make yourself comfortable.”
“Hm? Aren’t you coming in?”
“...I have sothing I need to take care of.”
Kim Eun-ha hesitated ever so slightly before answering. It was such a brief pause that an average person wouldn’t have noticed it, but Kang Woo-ju, of course, did.
“What’s going on?”
“It’s nothing important.”
“For you to be leaving at this hour, it seems important enough. Or is there so special reason why you need to lie to ?”
“You’re unusually persistent today.”
“You looked troubled.”
Vrrrr-
Kim Eun-ha glared silently at him for a mont. Kang Woo-ju, unfazed, t her gaze without wavering.
An unspoken standoff began between the two. After a brief tug of war, Kang Woo-ju erged victorious. Kim Eun-ha finally averted her gaze, muttering under her breath.
“...You’re annoyingly perceptive when it cos to things like this.”
“I can hear you, you know.”
“I said it for you to hear.”
Sigh-
Kim Eun-ha let out a short sigh as she finished speaking. For a mont, she seed uncharacteristically hesitant before reluctantly opening her mouth.
“...I’m just feeling unusually tired today. I thought I’d go ho and rest.”
“That’s also a lie.”
“Can’t you just let it slide this ti!?”
“I could, but....”
“But?”
Swoosh-
This ti, Kang Woo-ju awkwardly glanced away, scratching his cheek as he spoke slowly.
“I’m just worried, that’s all.”
“...Why? Afraid you’ll lose your financial sponsor?”
“Well, that’s not entirely untrue.”
“I take back what I said earlier about you speaking nicely.”
“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘You can’t scoop spilled water back into the cup’?”
“Woo-ju ssi, do you want to get hit?”
“There are a lot of people watching us right now.”
“So what?”
Crack!
It wasn’t a joke, Kim Eun-ha rolled her neck and flexed her wrists as she closed the distance between them. Seeing this, Kang Woo-ju quickly raised both hands to indicate surrender.
“Alright, alright. Then let at least drive you ho.”
“It’s fine. I’m not feeling that dizzy. Besides, I can’t leave the event I worked so hard to plan. What would the point be if the main star disappeared?”
“Still....”
“Shh-! Don’t make my efforts aningless. You know how much money went into this event without needing to spell it out, don’t you?”
Tap, tap-
Kim Eun-ha lightly tapped the bridge of Kang Woo-ju’s nose, as if scolding him playfully. In response, Kang Woo-ju gave a wry smile and shook his head.
“Alright, if that’s the CEO’s order.”
“As expected, you’re our Employee of the Month.”
Heh-
Suppressing a quiet laugh, Kim Eun-ha turned on her heel, and Kang Woo-ju accompanied her as far as the parking lot.
*
"Money really is the best."
Munch, munch-
Kang In-ho’s eyes reddened as he stuffed a piece of sushi into his mouth. With every bite, the rich, savory texture of the tuna lted his heart.
Not only had Kim Eun-ha rented out the cafeteria next to the theater, but she had also arranged for a full catering buffet. Thanks to her efforts, the entire production crew was now enjoying a hearty al.
Since most of them hadn’t even had proper lunches, let alone dinner, because of the shoot, they were busy devouring food like there was no tomorrow.
“She always goes above and beyond our expectations. I can’t even begin to guess how much she’s spent just for today.”
Chomp, gulp!
Beside him, Jung Ha-rin, who was ravenously wolfing down her food, nodded in agreent.
The sa could be said for the assistant writers seated in a row next to her. So of them even had tears streaming down their faces.
“To think she thought of people like us…”
“If we put sothing like this in a script, people would call it unrealistic and scold us for it.”
“Yeah, it’s a sha. In reality, there are plenty of people who spend hundreds of millions of won in a single day, but people are too stuck in their own little bubbles.”
“Hey, hey, if you’ve got ti to talk about depressing stuff, just focus on eating! When do you think we’ll get another day like this? All we have to do is say, ‘Thank you, Goddess,’ and keep eating.”
“Thank you, Goddess!”
Watching the script team, who had essentially beco Kim Eun-ha’s cult followers, Kang In-ho shook his head quietly.
This is exactly why money is so scary. It’s such a simple way to earn people’s goodwill.
‘...It feels like the entire crew is being trained as a group.’
She gives us ad placents.
She buys us premium beef.
Coffee and desserts? That’s just a given.
She rents out an entire movie theater.
And now she’s even provided us with private buses.
And all of this… is free.
‘Well, maybe not entirely free....’
At least on the surface, she wasn’t asking for anything in return. She simply delivered exactly what was needed, precisely when it was needed.
The only price we had to pay was our hearts. Maybe that was more expensive than anything else, but the problem was that it didn’t feel bad at all, even though we knew it.
‘Ah, forget it. Let’s just enjoy it for now!’
Kang In-ho gave up thinking any further.
When else would he get to experience sothing like this?
Maybe only if his next project was also with Kang Woo-ju.
Chomp, chomp-
Kang In-ho swallowed his swirling thoughts along with the food. There was no point in stressing over things he couldn’t control anyway.
“The comrcials are almost over! If you’ve finished eating, please head inside quickly!”
The booming voice of the youngest staff mber rang out, as reliable as ever. Those who had emptied their plates began grabbing popcorn and filing into the theater one by one.
Kang In-ho, along with Jung Ha-rin, also entered the theater. As the director, he was naturally given one of the best seats, out of respect from the crew.
“...Wow, the screen doesn’t even fit into my field of vision.”
“...They said this is the biggest screen in Korea, but I didn’t think it’d be this massive. And our drama is going to play on it?”
“Yeah. Even seeing it, I still can’t believe it.”
Heh heh-
The two of them let out chuckles, half in disbelief. Around them, the rest of the crew murmured similar sentints.
Half of the chatter was admiration for the enormous screen, while the other half was speculation about the drama.
“What kind of ratings do you think we’ll get?”
“At least 5%, don’t you think?”
“I think we can hit 10% easily.”
“Co on, that’s a bit much. KBC and MBS both have massively popular dramas airing right now. To break 10%, we’d have to steal their entire audience.”
Listening to their conversation, Kang In-ho nodded to himself.
The drama , currently airing on KBC, was smoothly sailing with ratings in the 7% range up to its 16th episode, and this week was its finale.
anwhile, MBS's newly launched drama,
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