"At the moment of Woojin's first appearance… the peak minute rating hit 19.1 percent."
The assistant director's report caught the PD of Frozen Love slightly off guard.
Soon, the entire production staff, including him, checked the laptop screen in front of the assistant director. The numbers were clear. The overall viewership rating for Frozen Love was 12.8 percent, and the peak minute rating had been recorded during Kang Woojin's first appearance. Of course, the directing PD and the production team had expected something along those lines.
Even so—
"Wow, Woojin really is hot right now. I knew there'd be interest, but I didn't think it would be this much."
"That's honestly amazing. Just looking at the ratings curve, you can tell exactly where Woojin appeared."
"Right. It really shows how popular he is."
The ratings had gone far beyond expectations. Because of that, the KBC drama department PDs crowded around like spectators, each throwing in their own opinion.
"Wow, the gap between the overall rating and the peak is pretty huge, isn't it?"
"This isn't just a slight difference. It jumped a lot. I don't think I've seen this kind of gap before."
"A peak of 19.1 percent is incredible. Should we try casting Kang Woojin in the next project too?"
"PD Kim, do you really think Kang Woojin would come just because you called? He'd reject it immediately."
"Still, when he appeared in Profiler Hanryang, it went all the way up to 25 percent, didn't it? And after he was gone, it dropped by around 5 percent. Wow, Kang Woojin's ticket power is no joke."
At that point, the PDs stopped talking about Frozen Love and began focusing almost entirely on Kang Woojin. Even so, the PD of Frozen Love remained calm.
'I'm pretty satisfied with the performance.'
KBC's dramas had been somewhat weak that year. There had barely been any that broke past 10 percent. Among them, Frozen Love could definitely be counted as one of the stronger ones. Even so, the top drama of the year was still Profiler Hanryang, and the press had already started framing it as a rivalry between writer Park Eunmi and writer Lee Wolsun.
Because of that, the PD felt a slight disappointment as he looked down at the phone in his hand.
Still—
"Ah, yes. Writer."
He had to inform Lee Wolsun, who had been waiting, of the official rating.
"The overall rating has been released."
Lee Wolsun's relatively calm voice came through the phone.
"How did it turn out?"
"···It did really well. You could honestly say it was one of the best of the year."
"How much?"
"The overall rating was 12.8 percent."
After hearing the result, Lee Wolsun fell silent for a moment, then muttered quietly,
"Tch, I lost."
The main PD quickly cut in.
"Writer! You don't need to worry about the ratings competition! They're different genres to begin with!"
"It's fine. I'm just talking to myself. By the way, what scene hit the peak minute rating in episode one?"
"Oh? Ah, the peak minute rating was 19.1 percent, and it was Kang Woojin's first appearance."
Then Lee Wolsun's voice came through the phone mixed with a laugh.
"19.1 percent? That really proves how strong Woojin's ticket power is."
An hour later.
The official ratings for the first episode of Frozen Love, which had aired the previous night, were released online.
[Official] Writer Lee Wolsun's Frozen Love Opens with 12.8 Percent
Frozen Love Breaks 12 Percent on Premiere, But Still Somewhat Disappointing
Articles distributed by KBC's drama department and media outlets quickly followed.
Frozen Love Opens at 12.8 Percent, A Solid Result but Lacking Explosive Impact
Unfortunately, it did not spark the same kind of explosive response that Profiler Hanryang had. But that had been expected. Profiler Hanryang had been the highest-rated drama of the year. Considering how much content was flooding the market and how domestic TV ratings had been declining overall, 12.8 percent was still an excellent number. It would not have been strange at all if the KBC drama team had celebrated like crazy.
But the press always added provocative angles to drive clicks.
[This Week's Pick] War of the Star Writers… Between Park Eunmi and Lee Wolsun, the Winner Is Profiler Hanryang
Park Eunmi vs Lee Wolsun, The One Smiling Is Park Eunmi
The media quickly split the two star writers into winner and loser, and article after article declared that writer Lee Wolsun had lost to writer Park Eunmi. Among giants in the field, that kind of framing was almost inevitable. Even so, there were also quite a few articles that properly focused on the actual content of Frozen Love.
As expected.
[Spotlight Cut] Kang Woojin, Appearing Early in Frozen Love / Photo
Entertainment outlets made sure not to leave Kang Woojin out of the conversation.
Frozen Love Also Hits 19 Percent… Kang Woojin's Entrance Scene Reaches Peak 19.1 Percent
Did Viewers Tune In for Kang Woojin's Sign Language? His Ticket Power Proven Again / Photo
There was no shortage of angles to stir curiosity.
"Did He Live Up to Expectations?" Public Praise Pours In for Kang Woojin's Sign Language Performance
Because of Kang Woojin's popularity and momentum, his sign language acting, and the comparisons to Profiler Hanryang, one particular video from Frozen Love's official YouTube uploads drew explosive attention. It was a cut featuring Kang Woojin as the mysterious man next door.
Why did it stand out so much?
The drama was good, of course, but I was deeply moved by Kang Woojin's sign language acting… thank you so much.
Countless viewers poured out personal stories and emotional reactions. In particular, many said that Woojin's sign language performance had brought them comfort.
At that very moment—
"Woojin."
Even in Buyeo, where The Island of the Missing was filming, the news had already reached them. The actors and staff talked about Frozen Love in a relaxed atmosphere. Meanwhile, Kang Woojin, dressed in ragged military uniform, thought to himself,
'12.8 percent? Hm, alright. Now I know.'
He accepted the result calmly while preparing for the next scene. He had received the ratings that morning, but in truth, he had known them for months already.
Naturally, that was thanks to the void space.
-[5/Script (Title: Frozen Love), Rating B+]
So while he was pleased, he wasn't especially moved. He had simply stored the score away in his mind long ago.
But Woojin's team was far more excited.
"Oppa, did you see the YouTube comments?? People are going crazy over your sign language acting!"
"There are already edited clips coming out that focus only on your sign language scenes."
Meanwhile, Choi Sunggeon, who remained relatively calm, seemed to have a good grasp of the situation. Before filming resumed, he leaned in and quietly said something to Woojin.
"Woojin, you saw the peak minute rating, right? That was all because of you."
"Yes, CEO."
"You do realize what this means, right? With Drug Dealer, Profiler Hanryang, and now Frozen Love, the ratings have shifted depending on whether you appear or not. That kind of thing says a lot. Your ticket power is incredible."
Choi Sunggeon continued, growing more enthusiastic as he spoke.
"And every one of those projects showed strong acting too. Not a single one failed. To the public, you naturally come across as a trustworthy actor, and inside this jungle of an industry, your status shoots up even faster. The difference between when you're there and when you're not is crystal clear."
"······"
"So what do you think rises because of that?"
Choi Sunggeon's smile deepened.
"Your value skyrockets."
The following night, Saturday.
Episode two of Frozen Love aired.
Naturally, the aftereffects of episode one had already thrown viewer forums into greater chaos, and even more reporters were waiting on standby.
Will Frozen Love, Which Already Broke 12 Percent, Rise Even Higher with Episode 2?
Because of that, episode two drew even more attention than the first. It resolved some of the initial conflict, introduced new characters, added fresh incidents, and steadily deepened the storyline.
During all of that, Kang Woojin fulfilled his role as a special guest perfectly.
He did not appear in many scenes, but every single appearance left a strong impact on viewers. His acting and presence were that powerful.
The following morning, Sunday, the official overall rating for episode two was released.
[Official] Frozen Love Episode 2 Records 13.3 Percent
The rating had risen from episode one, and once again, the peak minute rating came during Kang Woojin's scene.
At that point, an undeniable truth began spreading everywhere.
Kang Woojin Solidifies His Position as a Reliable Actor… Netizens Say, "If Kang Woojin Is in It, You Have to Watch"
His ticket power.
In any case, the entertainment pages on Sunday morning were filled with talk about Frozen Love. But by that same afternoon, other issues began drawing attention as well. For instance, there was the latest development involving Bulldog Seo Guseop.
Seo Guseop Enters Interrogation Room with Head Bowed / Photo
Even Drug Dealer, which had nearly lost its number-one spot at the box office, started getting new headlines.
Will Drug Dealer Fall Short of 7 Million? Expected to Finish Around 7.6 Million
A lot was happening all at once that week, but the weekend passed quickly. Before anyone knew it, Monday morning, November 30, had arrived.
The last day of November.
Tomorrow would be December 1st, the true beginning of the year-end season and the Christmas rush. The entertainment industry, and in fact the whole country and overseas markets as well, were all busy.
Naturally, Japan was no exception.
Among the many bustling places there was one major animation studio near Tokyo Station. It was massive, occupying an entire four-story building. Large posters of the company's hit anime covered the exterior walls, while the first-floor lobby was packed with character figures and smaller promotional posters.
The lobby was busy with all kinds of people.
Visitors taking photos of the posters and figures, employees of the studio, outside associates—everyone moved through the space in a steady stream. On the third floor, a heated meeting was taking place inside a medium-sized conference room.
The room itself was somewhat dim, and a prepared PPT presentation was being projected onto a small screen at the front.
People filled the U-shaped conference tables.
About half of them were executives from the animation company, while the other half were working staff. Among them, a woman in a suit standing beside the screen addressed everyone in Japanese.
"As a result, our performance in the second half of the year was poor. Not only did the ratings drop, but revenue was disappointing as well."
A balding executive seated at the front tapped his chin lightly with a pen.
"What do you think caused it?"
"Aside from the first quarter, every title we released in the second, third, and now fourth quarters has been a passionate action series… compared to last year, we've lost a significant portion of our female audience."
"Hm."
Another executive, arms folded, added his own thought.
"Then starting early next year, we need to add titles that can draw in female viewers and female fans."
"Yes. We've already set our direction that way."
"Have you looked into possible projects?"
"We've prepared a list."
The female employee who had been speaking glanced at the male staff member standing beside the projector. Soon, something new appeared on the screen at the front. They were not existing anime titles, but original works that could potentially be adapted into animation.
Comics, novels, light novels, dramas—
Most of them were romance or romantic comedy titles.
Even so, despite the long list, the executives' expressions did not improve much. It seemed none of the works felt especially compelling.
Then a middle-aged female executive wearing square glasses let out a quiet sigh and spoke in a low voice.
"Shouldn't we be adding something more new? Doesn't this all feel too similar to what we already did last year and the year before?"
Several of the other executives nodded in agreement.
"Agreed."
"With the number of animation studios increasing every year, we need to try something a bit bolder too."
At that point, the female staff member standing beside the screen cleared her throat and raised her voice.
"Then how about this? Instead of looking only at familiar domestic tastes, we search for original works from Korea or China. But there are already quite a lot of Chinese originals, so Korean titles might be better."
"Hm. The web novel and webtoon market there has definitely grown noticeably."
Right then—
"If we're looking for Korean originals."
The middle-aged female executive in square glasses cut in again.
"How about using a proven method?"
"Proven? What do you mean?"
"Netflix's Boy Friend. I'm sure some of you here have seen it. It's a four-part mini-drama, but the story itself feels like it could work very well as animation. As you all know, it's extremely popular. It's still a hot topic on social media and in communities."
Adapting a drama into animation was not unheard of, but turning a Korean live-action title into anime was quite a rare idea.
"Since the original is already such a major hit, we'd not only be able to target existing fans, but we could also take advantage of the power of the Korean Wave."
Most of the executives nodded. The middle-aged female executive continued with the thought she had been building toward.
"And to make it feel even fresher—this is only my personal thought, of course—what if we cast one of the actors from Boy Friend as a voice actor?"
As murmurs spread through the room, a familiar name came up.
"Do you mean Kang Woojin?"
"Are you talking about Kang Woojin?"
As if confirming the obvious answer, the middle-aged executive clasped her hands together and replied,
"Yes. Kang Woojin. Starting from Profiler Hanryang, then Boy Friend, and now The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice, his popularity has been soaring. If you've seen Ame Talk Show! or his YouTube appearances, you know his Japanese is practically native level, so there wouldn't be any issue there."
"Hm. Anything connected to Kang Woojin would definitely cause a stir."
"Have you heard him sing? You'd think he was an actual singer. A lot of his YouTube channel content is song-based. And recently, he even became a hot topic because of a good deed during his Japanese fan signing event. So I think he could even participate in the OST."
Anime's popularity in Japan was beyond imagination. It remained firmly at the top of the content market.
It would not be an exaggeration to say that Japan's content industry was dominated by animation. What more needed to be said about something that was so wildly popular all around the world?
And so—
"If we also take The Stranger's Grim Sacrifice into account, then we can't leave out either Boy Friend or Kang Woojin."
One of Japan's three biggest animation studios, a company that had already produced numerous hit works, was now discussing Kang Woojin.
"Wouldn't it be worth trying?"
The next day, December 1st.
At Director Ahn Gabo's house.
Dressed comfortably in pajamas, Director Ahn sat on the sofa in his living room. What stood out was the faintly amused smile on his face as he looked down at his phone.
The article on the screen read:
[Exclusive] Director Ahn Gabo, Who Had Been Keeping Out of Sight, Spotted Dining with Top Actor Shim Hanho… Has Shim Hanho Been Cast as the Lead in the Legendary Director's 100th Film? / Photo
As Director Ahn quietly read through the article, a smile full of fine wrinkles spread across his face.
"Good grief, there was a reporter there?"