Peninsula: The idol by the bedside refreshes randomly.

In Chen Ran's car, Jung Soo-jung was looking at her phone.

Jessica Jung only replied to one message:

Just say it when I tell you to.

Krystal pouted.

Jessica is really brainless. I gave her such an obvious hint, but she still didn't realize it.

Just as I was about to reply to a message and make things clear, the front passenger door was suddenly opened.

Ham Eun-jung leaned halfway in, preparing to get into the car, when her eyes met Jung Soo-jung's, who had just looked up.

She blinked.

Krystal Jung also blinked.

Then a smile appeared on her lips.

"I'll get a tissue."

Ham Eun-jung reached out and grabbed a tissue from the armrest, then slowly got out of the passenger seat, closed the door, and opened the back door to get in. She smiled at Jung Soo-jung, who returned the smile.

For some reason, the atmosphere in the back row was inexplicably awkward.

Ham Eun-jung looked down and wiped her phone screen with a tissue, her expression calm, but in reality, her delicate white toes inside those dad shoes were already curled up.

She was chatting with Xiaolongzai on her way here, and she kept an eye on Liu Huaying's condition.

After we finished talking, I walked to the passenger side and casually opened the door to get in, forgetting that I was with Krystal Jung this time.

The moment their eyes met, Ham Eun-jung realized she couldn't sit in the passenger seat anymore, otherwise Jung Soo-jung would become a third wheel.

So she could only come up with the excuse of getting tissues. Although it was a bit awkward, at least she had a legitimate reason.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Krystal Jung was thinking:

"This unnie opens the passenger door so smoothly, and how did she know where the tissues were in oppa's car?"

Real hammer!

This unnie must have ridden in oppa's car, and she must have been in the passenger seat.

Krystal frowned. Her sixth sense told her that something unspeakable must have happened between Ham Eun-jung and Chen Ran.

Even Chen Ran's co-pilot seat is probably something her older sister has never sat in.

Fortunately, Chen Ran spoke up at this moment:

"If there's nothing else, we'll be going now."

He naturally noticed the slightly awkward atmosphere in the back row, but he wasn't prepared to do anything and didn't feel nervous at all; on the contrary, he found it quite interesting.

His relationship with Ham Eun-jung was completely innocent, and even if Jessica Jung was sitting in the back row, he could explain it clearly.

Besides, it's definitely not Jessica Jung sitting in the back row right now, so what's there for him to be nervous about or need to explain?

The slightly awkward atmosphere in the back row was broken by Chen Ran's words. Ham Eun-jung secretly breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Yeah, let's go."

Krystal Jung added, "Let's go, oppa."

The car slowly started and drove towards the restaurant where the gathering was taking place.

In the back row, Ham Eun-jung continued chatting with her son, Little Dragon, on her phone.

Krystal Jung continued to ponder how far things had progressed between Ham Eun-jung and Chen Ran. After a while, she snapped out of her thoughts, picked up her phone, and sent a message to her unnie.

[Unnie, have you ever sat in the passenger seat of oppa's car?]

jessica: ? ? ? What does that mean?

Well, my unnie definitely hasn't ridden in one before.

Krystal sighed inwardly, preparing to reply "It's okay," when a small window popped up on her phone.

[Your phone is low on battery, please charge it.]

"Huh? My phone's dead."

Krystal looked up, about to ask Chen Ran if there was a charging cable in the car.

"Is the power out?"

Ham Eun-jung, who was standing next to her, looked up first and said something, then reached out and opened the armrest box, taking out a power bank.

"Chen Ran, does this power bank still have power?"

Chen Ran, looking straight ahead, nodded: "There's more." "Okay."

Ham Eun-jung turned around and handed the power bank in her hand to Jung Soo-jung.

"Soojung, here you go."

Krystal Jung took the power bank in a daze.

At that moment, she suddenly felt that she should be under the car, not inside it.

I'm a little confused about your relationship!

Could it be that my unnie's base has already been raided?

...

About twenty minutes later, the car arrived at a large barbecue restaurant near Hongdae, Seoul.

This is a barbecue restaurant that can accommodate more than 100 people for a meal. Many film crews have had their premiere dinners here before. Tonight, the film crew has booked the entire barbecue restaurant for everyone to have a meal together.

This barbecue restaurant also has a large screen where viewers can project their TV viewing. A smaller screen next to the large screen displays real-time online comments, allowing the restaurant to gauge viewer preferences.

Chen Ran, Ham Eun-jung, Jung Soo-jung, and others got out of the car and entered the barbecue restaurant. The staff immediately invited the three of them into a private room. Please remember the only website address for this novel: www.deqixs.org. The website owner has only this one website; other websites may be discontinued at any time.

The door to the private room faces the large screen. During the dinner, the director, screenwriter, TV station representatives, production company representatives, and the main actors will sit in the private room with the door open. Other crew members will sit in the lobby outside the private room.

The three of them sat down in the private room.

Chen Ran naturally sat in the main seat in the middle.

Krystal Jung and Ham Eun-jung, as the second and third female leads, sat next to each other in the right row, leaving the seat for the first female lead, Jang Nara, empty.

As time went on, Lee Eung-bok, Lee Jong-suk, Kim Woo-bin, and other crew members arrived one after another.

A group of people were chatting idly in twos and threes when suddenly the door to the private room opened again, and two middle-aged men walked in.

The visitors were Lee Chang-ho, the head of SBS Television Bureau, and Yoon Ha-rim, a representative from HD Company.

Upon seeing the two people, the people in the private room immediately stood up and bowed in greeting.

The two smiled and nodded in response, and finally walked to the two empty seats in the middle.

As he walked up to Chen Ran, Lee Chang-ho smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

"He Lin and I have already watched the edited first episode, and it's good. I believe the premiere will be a success." Chen Ran smiled modestly, "Thank you for your kind words."

Yin Helin, who was standing next to Chen Ran, also smiled and patted Chen Ran on the shoulder.

"Eun-sook even posted on social media to promote you, and now it's getting really lively online."

Chen Ran was slightly taken aback upon hearing this.

The others were also taken aback.

Screenwriter Kim Eun-sook actually posted an article to promote the show; they'd never seen her promote a drama before.

Even when her own dramas aired, she barely promoted them.

As expected of a personally instructed disciple, look at the treatment he receives.

Everyone then took their seats, and the main actors, including Chen Ran, took out their phones to check the online activity.

Upon opening Naver, they saw the fifth and seventh entries on the trending list.

5. [School 2013]

7. [Kim Eun-sook posts to promote new student drama] Upon seeing this, the group paused for a moment.

Why are there two trending topics?

Moreover, they were in the fifth and seventh positions in the front row.

They clicked on the fifth entry.

The first post was an update posted by Kim Eun-sook more than half an hour ago.

Kim Eun-sook: [The student drama premieres tonight at 10 PM on SBS. I'm already in front of the TV waiting for it.]

Below the text is a still from the TV series "School 2013".

The number of reposts, comments, and likes on this post is actually not very high.

Although Kim Eun-sook is a national screenwriter, most people only know that she exists, and very few people actually follow her account; her popularity is very low.

Logically speaking, such popularity should not have allowed this term to climb to the fifth position on the trending searches, especially with two related terms appearing at the fifth and seventh positions.

But as soon as they swiped their fingers and saw the next post, they immediately understood where the popularity came from.

Song Hye-kyo: I'm already waiting in front of the TV too [doge emoji] Below the caption is a still from "School 2013" that is exactly the same as the one Kim Eun-sook posted.

Lee Jong-suk, Kim Woo-bin, and others' pupils contracted.

Song Hye-kyo even posted an update to promote their new drama.

She's the national goddess of the peninsula; almost everyone on the peninsula knows her.

The moment this person posts an update, the level of attention is noticeably different.

Clicking into the comments section, you'll see nothing but supportive comments from fans.

After browsing the comments section for a while, they exited and scrolled down again, only to be stunned once more.

Hyun Bin: [Look]

A look-ahead expression, paired with a still from "School 2013".

Posted by Hyun Bin, 20 minutes ago.

Hyun Bin is also a male actor with high national popularity.

Further down... Jeon Do-yeon, Ha Ji-won, Jang Dong-gun...

Without exception, they all posted updates promoting the drama "School 2013".

Jang Nara and the others were a bit dumbfounded.

This promotional lineup is something they've never seen before.

But they quickly recovered from their shock.

These are all actors who have worked with Kim Eun-sook. The reason they are posting updates now is simply to support Chen Ran, Kim Eun-sook's protégé.

Kim Eun-sook has been a mentor to them, and now that she is personally promoting Chen Ran's new drama, it's only natural that they would help her.

For them, it was just a simple matter of posting an update.

After finally regaining their composure, the main actors in the private room couldn't help but show some excitement on their faces.

With so many well-known actors promoting it together, you can imagine how popular it will be.

The entry is currently ranked fifth and seventh, but that's only because the hype hasn't fully developed yet.

It's only been a little over half an hour since Kim Eun-sook first posted her update. Once the buzz fully builds, it's a sure thing that it will top the trending list.

Such immense popularity undoubtedly boosted the ratings of "School 2013" both during its premiere and thereafter.

If a TV series is successful, its lead actors will naturally benefit as well.

This drama was definitely the right choice!

At first, everyone thought it was a work by a new screenwriter, and they would be satisfied as long as the results were mediocre.

Unexpectedly, this new screenwriter is actually Kim Eun-sook's student. They haven't done anything yet, but they already have such a lot of buzz.

It's like Qin Shi Huang touching an electrical wire—he's completely won!

Seeing the online buzz, Chen Ran immediately sent a message to Kim Eun-sook.

Thank you, teacher.

Kim Eun-sook quickly replied: You're welcome. This is just the beginning. I believe you will go further and further.

After chatting with Kim Eun-sook for a few minutes, Chen Ran put down his phone.

Yin Helin, who was standing nearby, then asked, "So, Xiao Ran, what do you think of all the excitement online?" Chen Ran pondered for a moment and said, "The traffic is huge, but we need to be able to handle it to get positive feedback. Also, the larger the audience, the more criticism there will be, which is a side effect of traffic. However..."

He paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I believe that with the quality of our show, we can capitalize on this wave of popularity. As for the criticisms, I'll take them in stride. I'm a newcomer, so it's normal to have shortcomings."

Upon hearing this, Yoon Ha-rim and Lee Chang-ho both nodded, their eyes showing admiration.

He is humble and composed, and approaches problems rationally; he is indeed a promising talent.

The main actors sitting to the side couldn't help but nod in agreement. As actors, they actually understood the duality of popularity better than anyone else, but being able to treat it with a normal attitude was indeed not an easy thing.

However, after spending a month together, they could all see more or less that Chen Ran did indeed seem to have this calm and indifferent attitude.

Jung Soo-jung and Ham Eun-jung both had a slight glint in their eyes as they looked at Chen Ran.

They had seen too many examples of people who lost their way after gaining power, so Chen Ran's rationality and composure at this moment were refreshing to them.

Then, as the barbecue and drinks were served, the atmosphere in the private room and the main hall became lively.

Along with the booming barbecue restaurants, the online buzz surrounding "School 2013" also grew.

The buzz surrounding Song Hye-kyo and Hyun Bin, among others, completely escalated, ultimately pushing the hashtag "[School 2013]" to the top of the charts.

More and more fans and casual viewers were drawn to the topic and clicked on the entry, learning about the drama "School 2013," which premiered that night. Some people who were previously unaware of the drama even tuned into SBS to watch it. Thus, amidst this growing buzz, "School 2013" premiered at 10 PM.

The opening sequence played simultaneously on the large screen in the barbecue restaurant, and real-time comments began to appear on the small screen next to it.

They are all fans of the main actors, and there are constant expressions of support and check-ins from them.

The barbecue restaurant suddenly quieted down, and everyone's eyes were fixed on the big screen, their expressions somewhat tense.

The initial broadcast performance is a very important indicator. Putting aside everything else, its most direct impact is on everyone's future work performance.

If the premiere goes well, everyone will naturally be more motivated, the atmosphere of the entire crew will be better, and there might even be extra bonuses at the end.

If the premiere doesn't do well, then the opposite is true; if it's really bad, the production team might just stop filming altogether.

Chen Ran, sitting in the private room, looked at the big screen, feeling a bit nervous.

Although he has always had a good mindset, this is his first work to be broadcast, so how could he not be emotionally affected?

All eyes were on the big screen and the live comments.

After a long while, Lee Chang-ho glanced at the message sent from the TV station, then slammed his hand on the table, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

"Half an hour into the broadcast, the real-time viewership rating has stabilized at around 12%." The entire barbecue restaurant was quiet for a moment, followed by a burst of cheers.

The real-time viewership rating remained stable at 12%, which is a very good result.

Although it's not the average rating, it's still holding steady at 12% after half an hour, which shows that viewers are very engaged, and the final average rating will definitely not be low.

The premiere achieved impressive results.

Lee Chang-ho smiled and patted Chen Ran on the shoulder: "Ran, your grades are very good. From now on, just go for it with confidence. If you need any help, just let me know!"

Everyone around knew what those words meant.

This means that Lee Chang-ho, on behalf of SBS, has completely delegated power to Chen Ran.

If a TV series has poor ratings on its premiere, the TV station has the right to intervene and ask the screenwriter to revise the script in an attempt to salvage the ratings.

For production teams that achieve outstanding results, the TV station will give the screenwriters complete control and they will also enjoy preferential treatment in terms of TV station resources.

Clearly, School 2013 became the latter at this point.

The premiere achieved impressive ratings, relieving everyone's anxiety and reigniting the lively atmosphere in the barbecue restaurant.

Everyone started going around drinking and chatting, and the atmosphere was quite lively. But as they drank, they suddenly realized that Chen Ran, one of the core members of the crew, had disappeared without a trace.

Even Jung Soo-jung, who had just returned from the restroom, was momentarily stunned to see Chen Ran's empty seat in the private room.

What about people?

What about oppa?

Where is my big oppa?

How come he disappeared while I was in the bathroom?

"Eunjung unnie, where's oppa?" Jung Soojung walked up to Ham Eunjung and asked.

"He answered a phone call and left, as if something urgent had happened."