LIGHTNOVELONLINE Episode 18 - The Summer Promise
The cast and staff members all gathered at LN Media headquarters conference room to watch the first broadcast of ‘Summer Promise’ together. Normally, they would have gathered at JNBC headquarters where the drama was being aired or reserved a restaurant.
However, considering the dedication of Director Kim Han-soo and the production team, who poured their passion into editing until the last moment, they chose to gather at LN Media’s office, an external production company.
“Alright, as soon as this final advertisement ends, we’ll begin.”
The last advertisement was still playing before the broadcast began. Yeon-woo’s phone continued to vibrate. He switched his phone to silent mode and checked the message.
From the Family Group Chat:
[Mom and Dad are so nervous they might die.]
[Everyone seems so excited watching the live talk for ‘Summer Promise’. Oppa!]
Yeon-woo sent a private message to his younger sister So-hyeon, asking her to make sure their parents didn’t find out if there was any negative content or bad comments. He then looked at the other group chats where the message count was rapidly increasing.
[Yeon-woo, I got all my guild members to watch the live broadcast too!]
[I got all our relatives from our cousins to our distant relatives to watch!]
These were the words of his school friends, who managed to get everyone they knew to watch the live broadcast.
Feeling pleased, Yeon-woo smiled and refocused on the screen.
As the intro played, the first episode of ‘Summer Promise’ began.
Wow!
Clap, clap, clap!
The conference room was filled with applause and cheers, celebrating the fruition of their hard work. Director Kim Han-soo was on the phone with the JNBC drama department in a corner, and the staff were busy taking pictures of the intro screen on their phones.
“Ah! Every time, I get so nervous at this moment!”
Having played numerous lead roles, So-hyeon, an experienced actress, also covered her face with both hands and peeked through her fingers.
And finally, the first episode began.
It was the debut work for Yeon-woo, and he was equally nervous. He had done various special operations, including infiltrations, espionage, and reconnaissance, in war zones, but putting his name on the line and facing the public was an entirely new experience.
The first episode showcased the lively and exciting atmosphere of the campus. Scenes of Seo-joon and Yeoreum exchanging witty dialogues added to the fun. Even the live comments on the internet were positive:
「Live Talk for ‘Summer Promise’ on JNBC」
[GuuRiMango (Sky14***): So-hyeon and Yeoreum both look sharp and charismatic, more than I thought!]
[GomtingS (Mwlsd***): They’ve captured the webtoon vibe well. I’m already excited.]
[GyulMini (Answlt***): The chemistry between Son Jin-yuk and Han So-hyeon as leads is amazing. This is the end of the game. I’m still surprised by the fact that the A-list duo is appearing in a campus romance sitcom.]
Ryu So-hyeon, who was nervously anticipating her brother’s appearance, gazed at the screen with more anxiety than anyone else.
The middle of the first episode approached, and it was time for Cha Woo-joo’s first appearance.
As fast-paced music played, Cha Woo-joo walked down the runway.
“Wow, he’s amazing. I was surprised even when I was filming that scene.”
“Yeah, I thought they brought an actual model friend to the set.”
“True, but I wonder if Yeon-woo would make enough to eat even if he became a model?”
Cheers and admiration filled the room. Since Yeon-woo wasn’t a model, the scene he filmed was originally planned to be shorter and focus more on his upper body, aiming to use shots that wouldn’t reveal his actual appearance. However, the director’s enthusiasm prevailed, and the scene was edited into a full shot, resembling a real fashion show. The complete scene, which everyone saw for the first time, garnered applause and cheers from both staff and actors towards the director and Yeon-woo.
Yeon-woo smiled gracefully and offered a slight bow to those around him. On the other hand, his family, who had been anxiously waiting, were elated.
“Oh my, who’s that handsome son?”
“He looks so much like me, that rascal. Incredibly handsome.”
Alternating between the screen and his dad, Ryu So-hyeon glanced at her phone.
「Live Talk for ‘Summer Promise’ on JNBC」
[It’s Mars (Suin4***): Well…what is this visual?]
[Crayon Shinchan (Danbe3***): This is a casting mistake. If his face is even more cartoonish than Webtoon, what’s the point?]
[Park Ji-Hyeon (Hyeo***): Who is that guy? I. Want. Him.]
[Junsu the Great (Forbes***): Mr. Ryu appearance is a scam, right?]
The real-time comments were coming in faster than during the drama’s start, and every time they refreshed, two pages of comments would update in the real-time comment section.
“Mom and Dad! It’s a hit. The live comments are all really positive. Everyone says oppa look handsome.”
“Well, of course! He’s our son, after all.”
Yeon-woo’s excitement was overshadowed by the fact that there was no need for So-hyeon to hide anything from her parents. The comments were overwhelmingly positive.
As various characters appeared on screen, the first episode concluded with a scene where Chairman Cha, who Yeon-woo had rehearsed with during the script reading, exploded in anger at his son Cha Woo-joo.
Although Yeon-woo was aware of the content, and even though he had personally filmed over half of the scenes, he watched the drama with sweaty palms, fully engaged. Seeing himself on the screen, a long-awaited moment since childhood, was more thrilling and joyful than he had imagined.
An hour passed by unnoticed, and the staff members refreshed their screens, checking the viewership trends by searching ‘Summer Promise’ on various online platforms.
The first one to make a sound was Director Kim Han-soo, who was on a call.
“Everyone! According to the network’s internal survey, our first episode received a viewership rating of 8.3%.”
Applause and cheers erupted from all around at the director’s announcement. Writer Choi Mi-hyu and So-hyeon turned to look at each other, and So-hyeon gave a high-five to her.
At that moment, Assistant Director Cho, who had been holding onto his phone throughout the celebration, shouted,
“According to the Live Talk standard, it’s slightly higher. It’s 8.7%!”
Yeon-woo also exchanged a high-five with Jin-yuk.
“Well, I would’ve wanted to have a celebration dinner today, but we have Saturday’s shoot to wrap up. After that, the shoots for our lead characters will be over, so let’s go all out on the weekend.”
A toast!
Amid the sound of whistles, the conference room was brimming with excitement.
*********
In the beginning, Han Hae-woon had tried to forget about Jeon Su-hwan due to the pressure from higher-ups. But how could he forget when his name came up constantly?
“Ugh, this guy, Jeon. He’s not even my first love. Damn it.”
“What’s wrong?”
Frowning as he sighed unusually, prosecutor Han was asked by Investigator Lee Hyeong-ryeol, who was in the same office.
“Ah, Investigator Lee. Haha, want to go smoke?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Han Hae-woon and Lee Hyeong-ryeol went out to smoke and after a few puffs, Han Hae-woon spoke.
“Chief came by the other day.”
“Yes, actually, I was wondering what that was about. Hm.”
Han Hae-woon confided in Lee Hyeong-ryeol like he usually did with her father, trusting him like a veteran with 25 years of experience.
Of course, he omitted the part about the dream and only explained that something suspicious had come up.
“Well, in cases like this…”
While stroking his chin in thought, Investigator Lee finally spoke.
“Hae-woon, back when I was a rookie, in the late 90s, I was investigating an ordinary person and got a warning from the higher-ups.”
Han Hae-woon’s ears perked up at Investigator Lee’s words.
“Later, I found out that the person I was investigating was an NIS agent.”
“If it’s NIS, then the current ….”
“Yes. He is from National Intelligence Service.”
The moment Han Hae-woon heard the words “National Intelligence Service,” a piercing headache shot through her head.
“Are you okay, Hae-woon?”
“Ah, yes. I’m fine. I suddenly got a headache.”
Lee Hyeong-ryeol looked at Han Hae-woon with concern and raised his voice slightly.
“If you collapse like last time, what am I supposed to do? Take a break while you work, seriously.”
Han Hae-woon smiled at Lee Hyeong-ryeol’s genuine concern.
Since then, several days had passed, and if there was a change, it was that new memories, memories that were definitely not his, began appearing in his dreams. This time, a woman named ‘Jeong Hye Min’ and a young child who seemed to be his daughter. And although her names were not specific, he treated her familiarly. Many scenes like this appeared repeatedly whenever he fell asleep.
“Ha, am I catching some sort of mental illness? But if it’s a mental illness, then why is ‘Jeon Soo-hwan’ also a real person?”
Then the other people who come up in the dream are real people, so where do I start from?
*********
Time passed, and the weekend arrived. As Director Kim had said, the final scenes of the shoot were approaching.
The viewership rating for the second episode settled in the high 9% range, slightly higher than the first episode. The broadcasting station hoped that if they continued to gather viewers at this rate, they might be able to finish in the mid-10% range.
Of course, with the emergence of other media, the share of viewership was gradually increasing, and more people were watching in different ways. Because of this, the TV viewership measured by sample surveys was decreasing in importance and reliability. However, still, when evaluating a drama’s success, the viewership rating remained a significant measure.
Given JNBC’s nature, drama viewership was inevitably lower compared to other terrestrial broadcasting stations. Considering that the average initial viewership for typical dramas ranged from the low 3% to the general 5%, ‘Summer Promise’ was a big hit from the broadcasting station’s perspective.
Thanks to that, even the scene of the final shoot was more energetic than usual. In this final scene, as they bid farewell to each other’s future, Seo-joon and Yeoreum went to Paris Fashion Week, while Woo-joo headed to study abroad in New York. It was the last scene of the drama.
However, according to the shooting order, the actual final scene was Seo-joon confessing his feelings to Yeoreum, who had decided to leave for Paris Fashion Week and study abroad.
“Okay! Cut! End of shooting for ‘Summer Promise’!”
In the restaurant rented entirely for the shoot, Seo-joon confessed his feelings to Yeoreum, and tears welled up in her eyes as the okay sign was given.