PD Lee Min-hwa of Heavenly Garden was convinced that much was riding on this drama.
The upcoming viewer ratings wouldn’t just determine the success of the drama but would also serve as a critical turning point in the power struggle between the drama departments at KMB.

“That’s why this preview is so important.”
“But do you think this will work? There’s no romance, after all.”

Lee Min-hwa squinted at the staff member who had spoken.
Of course, the employee wasn’t saying Heavenly Garden was boring.

In fact, they found it quite enjoyable.
However, the drama was undoubtedly challenging.

‘Even Dream Future, which was presented as a youth drama, had romance.’

Though it had a lot of comedic elements, there was a solid romantic aspect.
Moreover, the OST was very well received, making it a commercially successful drama despite its plot.

‘But Heavenly Garden has no romance.’
‘It might fit the genre of a coming-of-age story, but still...’

When people feel uncertain, they naturally compare it to what’s familiar.
If something is present in other shows but not here, it makes them uneasy.

Furthermore, among broadcasters, producers, and staff, there’s a general formula for what makes a drama successful.
Heavenly Garden was essentially going against that formula.

There was no romance.
The main character was a high school student.
And it didn’t quite fit the mold of a typical youth drama.

Altogether, it was a complicated show.

“Well, that’s understandable.”

Lee Min-hwa, who had been about to lash out, held back.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t empathize with their concerns.

“I believe that once this preview is released, those worries will be put to rest.”

Her words drew everyone’s attention.
Was the preview really that good?
Even if it was, they couldn’t be sure how it would feel.

Still, there was one thing.
One thing they were sure of.

‘The lead is solid.’
‘As long as it’s Ju Seoyeon, at least the acting won’t fail.’

At the very least, the choice of the lead actor was well-received.
Not only was her acting solid, but Ju Seoyeon had also gained a considerable amount of buzz recently.
Among actors her age, she had shot to the top.

To the point that she was being mentioned alongside Jo Seohui.

“At least the lead doesn’t fall short compared to PD Baek’s drama, right?”
“Yes, that’s true. At least right now. But of course, the other side has name recognition.”

The drama being compared to Heavenly Garden was PD Baek Tae-su’s The Grand Game.
It was a massive production in many ways.

The budget initially allocated for that drama was twice that of Heavenly Garden.
However, PD Baek had managed to cut that budget in half by leveraging his personal connections.
So, in terms of cost, Heavenly Garden and The Grand Game were on equal footing.
In many ways, it wasn’t an ideal situation for them.

When you compared the scale of the two, it felt like the other side had the upper hand.

“Oh, but did you see the variety show?”
“Variety show?”
“You know, the one that aired next door recently. The one with Ju Seoyeon.”

The tense atmosphere relaxed as a staff member smiled and brought up the topic.
Nobody was unfamiliar with the variety show that had aired recently.

After all, it featured the lead actress of their drama.

“Of course I watched it. It was fun.”
“That was Ju Seoyeon’s mother, right? The one on the show?”
“Yes, that’s what I heard.”
“Wow, she looks so young. I mean, how does she look that young at her age? My wife, on the other hand…”

The conversation didn’t last long due to the nature of the setting, but it did help lighten the mood.

“That’s a good idea,” PD Lee Min-hwa said, smiling.

“Huh?”
“Ju Seoyeon’s mother became quite a topic of conversation, didn’t she? I heard about it too.”
“Ah, so even the PD heard about it. It was a pretty big deal, after all.”
“Then, I think it would be good to include her in an interview for the promotion.”
“...What? You mean Ju Seoyeon’s mother?”

“Yes.”

Heavenly Garden was a drama that dealt with parent-child relationships.
So, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to include an interview with the actors’ parents, given the current buzz.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a long segment—just a short interview.

“We might as well reach out to the other young actors’ mothers too.”

It seemed like it would be a nice touch for the promotional video.

“I’ll contact Ju Seoyeon myself.”

That’s what PD Lee Min-hwa decided.
And then...

“Mom, PD Lee is asking if you’d be okay with doing an interview for the drama.”
“...”

Su-ah, who had rejected all advertising offers, collapsed to the floor upon hearing that request.
She had a feeling this one would be difficult to refuse.

 

Whether it was promoting the drama or appearing on variety shows, neither could be neglected.

More than anything, Seoyeon’s image improvement project was still ongoing.

‘But if Mom does the interview, won’t my image get weird again?’

Nonetheless, Su-ah had undeniably become a hot topic recently.
Having her appear in the drama’s promotional materials didn’t seem like a bad idea.
After all, Heavenly Garden was about parents and children.
It made sense for the actors’ real parents to appear as part of the promotion.

On top of that, most of the actors in this production weren’t second-generation celebrities.

“Alright, cut, cut!”

At the ad director’s call, Seoyeon finally sighed and relaxed her posture.
Today was the long-delayed ADZ commercial shoot.

As soon as she sighed, someone came running from afar.
It was Assistant Manager Kim from the ADZ advertising department.
Originally, the team leader had planned to come, but recent events had thrown the schedule into chaos.

‘Recent events…’

Seoyeon knew the reason.
The so-called Ju Seoyeon Challenge.
Who would have thought it would become such a big deal?

‘Even when I went to the gym the other day, everyone was looking at me expectantly.’

Of course, she had gone there for a segment on the observational variety show.
But since the Ju Seoyeon Challenge was at its peak, everyone was watching her.
That day, she didn’t do any strength training—just focused on flexibility exercises and things that aligned with her image.

“Not lifting any weights?”
“Is Seoyeon feeling unwell today? She seems off her game.”
“...”

Even the gym trainers and her manager kept giving her sideways glances.
Among them was Jung Hyun-woo, a male actor who often frequented the gym.
He often asked Seoyeon various questions, and this time, he made a bold announcement.

“I will take on the Ju Seoyeon Challenge with actress Ju Seoyeon!”

Right here at the gym!
With that declaration, the ADZ chair was rolled out, and Seoyeon almost fainted.
Why was an ADZ chair in a gym?

Even as she wondered that, it was clear the production team had prepared it in advance.
Once Jung Hyun-woo realized it was being filmed, he placed Seoyeon on the chair and tried to lift it with great enthusiasm.
Well, the result was predictable.

“Ahem, ahem.”

It was funny, sure, but Seoyeon couldn’t help but worry that it might give her another weird image.

Still, Seoyeon had given up on those concerns by now.
At this point, she thought, ‘At least it’s better than being a weird spear-wielding gorilla.’

“Do I look intellectual, at least?”
“Pardon? Oh, absolutely, absolutely!”

Assistant Manager Kim gave her a thumbs-up as he spoke.
The ad had come out looking quite good.

“But wouldn’t it be better to include a scene of you lifting the chair?”
“...That wouldn’t make me look intellectual.”
“Haha, just kidding!”

Assistant Manager Kim was in a good mood.
The ad had turned out well.
There had been internal discussions about including the “Ju Seoyeon Challenge” in the ad, but the advertising team leader, Gwak Hyun-woo, had refused.

“We’re a chair company, not a fitness equipment company. I don’t think it’s appropriate to use a meme in our ads.”

He had been surprisingly firm in rejecting the idea.
Instead, he suggested they focus on Seoyeon’s image from Heavenly Garden.

Naturally, there was some pushback.

“Why not take the easy route? It’s clearly going to succeed!”
“Ju Seoyeon is a hot topic right now! We should capitalize on that!”

Some employees, and even one of the directors, pressured him to reconsider.
But Gwak Hyun-woo just shook his head.
Of course, once even a director got involved, it became harder for Gwak Hyun-woo to refuse all the suggestions.

In the end, another director had to step in as a mediator.

“I think Gwak is right. We’re a chair company, not a fitness brand.”

So, they managed to move past it, but there was still internal dissatisfaction.

Why take a gamble when the easy path was right in front of them?
That was the general sentiment.

‘In that sense…’

Assistant Manager Kim may have been joking, but the ad really had turned out well.
The character Seoyeon played in Heavenly Garden—what was her name again? Yi Yuju, wasn’t it?

Even though Seoyeon herself could sometimes feel unapproachable, her character Yi Yuju was something else entirely.

‘The image of someone who rejects people.’

Yi Yuju had a strong aura of contempt and hatred for others.
Of course, that image wasn’t portrayed in the ad.

In the commercial, she came across as a model student.
The image was of a diligent student, serious about her studies.
But the underlying intensity was palpable to Assistant Manager Kim.

“You have nothing to worry about. I saw it myself—it turned out incredible. Honestly, this might be our best ad yet!”
“Well, that’s a relief.”

Seoyeon smiled politely, and Assistant Manager Kim genuinely wondered about the impact this ad would have.

‘They said the ad would air around the same time Heavenly Garden starts airing.’

Whether it would be during the second episode or the third, the timing would be around then.

‘Will Team Leader Gwak’s decision pay off… or backfire?’

He wasn’t sure.
If it were up to Assistant Manager Kim, he would’ve fully embraced the “Ju Seoyeon Challenge” in the ad.
Based on Seoyeon’s recent image, he wondered if it would be difficult to change people’s perceptions.
No matter how intellectual or serious she appeared now, people who had seen her on variety shows might just find it amusing.

That was the nature of an entertainer’s image.
He just hoped the new image Seoyeon would present in Heavenly Garden would work well in the ad.

 

The day before the second episode of Golden Duckling was set to air, Seoyeon was enjoying some rare free time.

Most of her recent busy work had been wrapped up, so she felt like she could finally relax a bit.

“Hey, you didn’t… happen to watch VTuber streams again, did you?”
“...”

Seoyeon averted her gaze at Jiyeon’s question.
There was no point in lying. After all, it would come up in the broadcast or the third episode anyway.

Jiyeon, seeing Seoyeon’s reaction, sighed.
Seoyeon wasn’t the most patient person.

She had a tendency to act impulsively, likely because she was driven by her emotions.
Thankfully, this had improved since middle school.

Jiyeon sighed again, remembering her own embarrassing moments from that time.

“I got in.”
“Huh?”
“I passed the audition for The Gyeongseong Lady. I got a call this morning.”

Seoyeon unconsciously shot up from her seat.
Realizing they were in a café, she quickly sat back down, embarrassed by the attention.

“Isn’t that Ju Seoyeon?”
“No way.”
“She’s wearing a mask, so it’s hard to be sure…”

She couldn’t escape the whispers around her.
Feeling a bit flustered, Seoyeon lowered her voice as she spoke to Jiyeon.

“You should’ve called and told me about that!”
“We could just talk about it when we met.”

Jiyeon snorted dismissively, her attitude giving off a bit of a delinquent vibe.
Seoyeon couldn’t help but wonder, ‘How does she have so many friends?’

“But there’s a bit of a problem.”
“A problem?”
“Didn’t you hear from Jo Seohui? Well, I guess she wouldn’t want to tell you.”

Maybe because she didn’t want Seoyeon to get a bad impression and back out of the project.
On the other hand, Jiyeon was telling her now because she knew how important this role was.

But Jiyeon knew one thing for sure.
Once Seoyeon committed to something, she never backed down.

“There’s a snag with one of the roles.”
“A snag with the roles?”
“There’s supposed to be a servant under your character in The Gyeongseong Lady, right? The one who manages the household.”

Seoyeon knew about it.
It was a senior actor who had quite a bit of experience and was meant to play the film’s main antagonist.
Because of how crucial the role was, Director Baek Min had been very careful in casting.

“But apparently, that actor backed out. Officially, they’ve signed on to another movie.”
“...What about the contract?”
“Well, they hadn’t started filming yet, so they probably just paid a small penalty and left. Or maybe not even that.”

Jiyeon didn’t know the exact details.
What mattered was that the role was now vacant.

“So, they won’t be able to start filming until they find a replacement.”

It might be easy to assume Director Baek Min would quickly find someone,
but in reality, it was quite difficult.

The movie wasn’t highly commercial, and the pay wasn’t great, so bigger actors weren’t interested unless they really wanted the role.

And the vacant role was that of the villain.
Would any big actor want to play the villain for little money?
For artistic merit alone?

‘There probably is someone.’

They could find someone if they looked hard enough.
But it would definitely take time.

“...Could I recommend someone to Jo Seohui for the role?”
“Why don’t you tell her yourself?”
“I’m a bit mad at Jo Seohui right now.”
“For what?”

She hadn’t told her about the audition results, and she had been in a scene with Lamiel.
For such petty reasons, Seoyeon had been pretending to be upset with Jo Seohui.
It was just a joke, though.

“Fine, I’ll let her know.”

Seoyeon nodded.
A villain, huh?

They needed an actor of a certain stature, someone Director Baek Min would like.
If that was the case...

There was only one person Seoyeon could think of.

“Oh, Seoyeon! Long time no see. Want to go fishing together? Oh, wait, it’s not about fishing?”

He was a veteran actor who had been active for a long time.
In terms of acting skills, he was one of the top five in the country.

Five years ago, he had a rough time trying to break into the international market and had returned to Korea.
Recently, he had only appeared on Star Fisherman, a fishing variety show,
but he and Seoyeon still kept in touch from time to time.

It was none other than actor Lee Sang-su.