* * *

“Cheers—!”

Inside the barbecue restaurant near MBS, where the 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 wrap-up party was in full swing.

Together with the staff, I raised my glass between the sobbing Seo Eden and Beopsun munching cucumbers just like in the broadcast.

On the screen, a preview for next week’s new drama was playing.

Now it really felt like it was over.

“It’s finally done!”

“Ahh— bittersweet!”

Director Byeon, who had stuck a spoon into a cider bottle, stood up from his seat.

“Alright, alright! The long-awaited impressions time has arrived!”

The staff started making drumroll noises the moment Director Byeon appeared.

“When we first started this... honestly, we were all terrified, right?”

“Absolutely!”

“I thought we were gonna die!”

“But who are we?!”

“Dong! Ro! Dong! Ro! Dong! Ro!”

“That’s right! Our DongRo team! I’m seriously proud we managed to finish this project safely even in the middle of a war! I’m satisfied knowing we carved out a page in history together!”

The next turn went to Hwang Boseok.

After stopping the hand that had been petting Beopsun, Hwang Boseok rose to his feet with a strangely refreshed smile.

“It’s been a long time since I...”

The veteran’s smile somehow looked younger than when I had first met him, mischief lingering in his eyes.

“...felt this excited. Heh heh... Thank you, everyone, for doing such a good job. Juha, I’m looking forward to your future works. Segye, you did great too, even though acting wasn’t familiar territory for you. And Pyeonghwa.”

Hwang Boseok looked at me.

“Thank you.”

That single sentence felt like it compressed everything that had happened until now into one line.

The bottle was passed over, and Writer Hwang’s warm fingertips brushed mine.

“WAAAAAH—! Nam Pyeonghwa!”

“Pyeonghwa! Pyeonghwa! Pyeonghwa!”

The surroundings exploded into noise.

The Smile Dairy marketing team, the B-bly team, Haebo Brewery, and Sansung all went wild. The response was so loud the restaurant felt like it might burst apart.

“Ha... everyone before me already said so many nice things that I honestly don’t know what I should even say anymore....”

The attention focused solely on me after so long sent a thrill down my spine.

It felt like I was rehearsing for a fan meeting, my heart pounding wildly.

“During a time with such a grand and terrifying title like the Holy Grail War, every single person here worked so hard, and I think that’s why our 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 was able to stay a good drama until the very end. I was truly happy while living as Pyeonghwa! And so that all our staff members can be happy too! I prepared gifts!”

“Aang aang aang aang!”

Beopsun spun in circles beside me barking excitedly.

Maybe it was because they were already emotional just imagining the PPL effects, but Smile Dairy, B-bly, Haebo Brewery, and Sansung all stood up and applauded.

“The watches were prepared by Sansung—!”

I had been waiting for this moment.

The moment when #HanYeoreumGoodDeeds #HanYeoreumPersonality #HanYeoreumLoyalty could spread far and wide.

“And I prepared tablets!”

Even our staff all stood and applauded. It sounded loud enough to shatter glass.

Looking at the mountain of watch and tablet boxes piled inside the restaurant made my heart tremble.

‘Ahhh....’

Tomorrow, warm-hearted articles would probably be filled with my name....

Just imagining it felt sweet.

“Hic... I learned so much... hnghhh....”

Seo Eden cried even while giving his speech, as if he had genuinely become possessed by Jeon Segye.

“Thank you... sob....” 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

For the record, Seo Eden had prepared gifts too through the clothing brand he modeled for.

The item?

Long padded coats.

“Alright, alright. Stop crying. Here, drink.”

“...It’s beer....”

“You think getting drunk on a day like today is a good idea? Just drink comfortably.”

And at this company dinner, Han Yohan sunbae had come to pick up Beopsun, while Shin Seojin sunbae — who claimed he had somehow just ended up tagging along despite very obviously not “just happening” to be here — was also present, radiating clear intent to steal the title of Number One Man You Want to Drink Soju With.

Even the CEO of Management Yeonggwang had shown up.

“Thank you... sob....”

“Hahaha. No need to thank me.”

Incidentally, Shin Seojin had recently appeared on the JC ENM self-produced content series <First Train Live> in order to snatch away the “man you want to drink soju with” title — shortened to “Mr. Soju-Dateable.”

He had no movie or drama to promote whatsoever, but Shin Seojin still appeared purely to promote himself as the ideal Mr. Soju-Dateable candidate.

Clips of Shin Seojin drinking soju spread everywhere after the video shot up to realtime trending popularity.

The sheer amount of calculation involved terrified me.

When pouring soju, he deliberately angled his arm to emphasize his forearm muscles, while simultaneously following every drinking etiquette rule with military precision.

Seo Eden had stolen the number one spot only once, yet Shin Seojin was taking him absurdly seriously.

As expected of the gentleman among gentlemen, Shin Seojin.

“Sunbae, your intentions are way too obvious.”

“Hahaha. Even so, don’t say it out loud. Seriously, please.”

“You’re also here to make an impression on Writer Hwang, aren’t you....”

I whispered quietly to Shin Seojin.

Beopsun seemed curious too, hopping onto Shin Seojin’s lap before melting under his dazzling petting skills.

“When people start loudly begging a guy to please do romance before he gets even older after only doing genre projects, and then he acts like he’s reluctantly giving them a romcom? Women love that kind of thing. Hahaha. Playing hard to get works best.”

I felt an overwhelming wall between us.

Shin Seojin’s female-heart calculator was far superior to Han Yeoreum’s materialistic calculator.

“Don’t you feel bad for Eden at all?”

“What’s there to feel bad about? He’s a grown man. Hahahaha. Yeoreum-ah, stop trying to kick your sunbae out....”

“Sunbae. Anyone with impure intentions must be expelled from a sacred wrap-up party.”

“What are you talking about? My desire to celebrate is way stronger. I also came because later I wanted to make cat whiskers on your face with cake.... If you send your sunbae away like this, are you sure you won’t regret it?”

That tempted me a little.

‘Cat whiskers?’

Not just whipped cream on the nose — if he made whiskers across my cheeks like a cat too, it would be unbelievably cute.

It was hard to get good photos at wrap-up parties, but if Shin Seojin was around, I could definitely get pictures worth uploading to my story.

‘Since Shin Seojin is the kind of man who makes every photo look like boyfriend material, he knows how to turn my photos into girlfriend-material shots too.’

The whipped cream on my nose picture Shin Seojin took during the final shoot of 〈Unfair Trade〉 still held record-breaking likes.

How much would our Summer Day love seeing cute cat-whisker whipped-cream girlfriend pictures [N O V E L I G H T] of me again....

On the scales of Han Yeoreum’s materialism, I placed the image of Summer Day seeing my whipped-cream cat girlfriend shot against poor Seo Eden.

Naturally, one side won by overwhelming landslide.

“Okay, deal.”

“Knew you’d say that. Okay okay.”

I shook hands with Shin Seojin in agreement not to kick him out.

Everyone should seize their own place through their own efforts.

“But isn’t Myeong Jeha coming today?”

Shim Juhwan suddenly approached and asked.

I released Shin Seojin’s hand and shook my head.

“He said he’s busy right now.”

“You two keep in touch regularly?”

“Well... naturally....”

Myeong Jeha was secretly kind of an old-fashioned nag despite his age, so if I didn’t send greetings properly, one day he’d issue a smiling but terrifying scolding.

Shim Juhwan looked at me with an unreadable gaze.

‘Why do his eyes look so sparkling...?’

Covering his mouth while laughing, Shim Juhwan returned to the still-crying Seo Eden.

What was that about?

“Jeha’s doing a romcom too? Hahaha. Seriously, I hope he doesn’t.”

“He won’t.”

Even if he suddenly changed his mind and said he would, I absolutely wouldn’t allow it.

There was no way I’d hand over Myeong Jeha’s rarity value to another actress.

“I like you more and more. Please pass along that exact attitude for me. And tell him I’m cheering for him never to change his mind. Ah, Writer Hwang! Let me pour you a drink too!”

Shin Seojin disappeared to go make an impression on Writer Hwang.

The person who immediately filled the empty seat beside me was Sansung.

“We’ve always been proud that we chose Miss Yeoreum as our model.”

“Please remember we said it first.”

“Did their chairman come? Our Haebo Brewery chairman came personally.”

“Um... we submitted a model proposal too... please! We hope you’ll review it positively....”

I enjoyed what felt like the trial version of “I Became the Crown Princess Trapped Between Reverse-Harem PPL Advertisers,” a situation I’d only ever seen in dreams.

Sansung, Smile Dairy, Haebo Brewery, and B-bly all fought over me.

‘More... fight more....’

Go ahead and say you absolutely can’t live without me!

Smiling brightly, I responded to selfie requests flying at me from every direction.

“Come to think of it, the male lead of your next project is here too!”

At someone’s shout, Han Yohan — who had silently been grilling meat the whole time — lifted his head.

“No, sunbae. Were you really grilling meat this entire time?”

“Yes. Everyone was still eating well.”

“It felt so natural I thought you worked here... Sunbae, come over here.”

Shin Seojin, who had been stamping his face into Writer Hwang’s memory, sprang to his feet.

“Hahaha. Meat should be grilled by the person best at grilling it. Give me the tongs.”

His skill at subtly advertising himself as a man good at grilling meat was honestly impressive.

Apparently loving the thick smell of grilled meat, Beopsun jumped from Shin Seojin’s arms into Han Yohan’s.

“Beopbeop!”

“Shhh... you mustn’t bark so noisily. You’re not the only protagonist here. Everyone here worked hard, so reckless behavior is unacceptable, Beopsun.”

Watching Han Yohan pat Beopsun gently, Director Byeon shouted out loudly.

“But those two already look so good together!”

“What? What looks good together?”

Seo Eden protested with flattened fish-like eyes.

But he was so pitiful nobody paid attention.

“Seriously though? They really do match well.”

“That visual works.”

That’s all because of my skill, you know....

I smiled while thinking about my leveled-up skill.

I was already looking forward to the next project.

* * *

Lee Saerok, the MBS Drama Center director who hadn’t attended the 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 wrap-up dinner, was busy.

“Hey—!”

“Get lost!”

More specifically, he was busy provoking people.

“Hey! Sangjun-ah!”

“...Get lost.”

Despite the ridiculous distance, he deliberately went all the way to KBC and SBC just to harass the directors there.

Seeing those friends who had been so confident at the beginning now completely deflated made him happier than ever before.

The streets were overflowing with Han Yeoreum.

Sansung GLX Watches were recording unprecedented sales.

This month, they had even outsold AP Watches.

Overjoyed by the once-in-history news, Sansung released promotional press statements like lunatics.

Outdoor advertisements flooded everywhere, to the point where you could see Han Yeoreum wearing a watch no matter where you looked.

At bars too, Han Yeoreum posters occupied the best golden spots.

The slogan used for Fresh Leaf Soju became popular for drinking-party proof shots, giving it enormous popularity among younger consumers.

Smile Dairy’s Melon Milk had entered an unprecedented golden age.

All because of the symbolism of the scene shown in the drama.

Combined with Han Yeoreum’s nickname “Baby Melon Bread,” melon itself had become a new phenomenon.

People’s preference toward melon flavor had fundamentally changed.

B-bly held the number one fashion platform spot for two straight months.

Not only sales, but even app download numbers themselves had changed completely.

Consumers with brown hair styled like Han Yeoreum continuously shopped on B-bly.

More than simple self-insert satisfaction, they wanted to imitate Nam Pyeonghwa’s styling itself.

Watching the Han Yeoreum billboards illuminating the dark streets, Lee Saerok headed to Hwang Boseok’s house — where the second round of drinking was still ongoing — carrying an enormous pile of ice cream.

“Waaah! Ice cream—.”

“Come in, come in. Heh heh. You prepared a large one for me too, right?”

“Hic... Director....”

“Aang!”

Lee Saerok spent the entire night with the 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 team thinking that maybe things could stay like this forever.

They hadn’t won overwhelmingly, but that was enough.

It had been a good drama.

A good story.

A battle this fierce would probably never happen again, and the rookie actor and rising actress had both worked unbelievably hard.

With those thoughts, he fell asleep.

Everyone welcomed the morning collapsed across Hwang Boseok’s studio living room after being thoroughly beaten down by alcohol and sugar spikes.

The birdsong sounded especially cheerful.

Bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt, bzzzt.

Then everyone’s phones began ringing simultaneously.

“Uh....”

“Mmm....”

The first people to wake up were Lee Saerok and Hwang Boseok.

The moment they answered their calls, their expressions changed.

“Director! The ratings just came out!”

“Writer! The ratings, the final episode ratings—!”

The voices coming from the phones were so loud that the surrounding staff gradually woke up too.

Only Han Yeoreum still remained deeply asleep.

The moment everyone saw Hwang Boseok and Lee Saerok’s expressions, they immediately checked their phones.

“AAAAAH!”

Then they screamed and rushed over to pick Han Yeoreum up.

“Huh? Huh? Wha? What is it?”

Still unable to properly open her eyes, Han Yeoreum panicked as the staff grabbed her light body and tossed her high into the air.

Unable to contain their joy, they threw her so high she nearly reached the top of the loft ceiling.

Under the bright sunlight, everyone shouted together as one.

“Long live!”

“Long live!!!”

“Long live!!!!!!”

〈Tamhok〉 Episode 14 Ratings: 8.8%

〈Dear Judge〉 Episode 14 Ratings: 12.1%

〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 Episode 14 Ratings: 13.2%

And finally—

“Long live Han Yeoreum!!!”

〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 Episode 16 Ratings: 20.1%

Writer Hwang’s adventure, Lee Saerok’s romanticism, Han Yeoreum’s talent, Seo Eden’s effort, and the staff’s passion all combined together.

“We won!!!”

And in the end, they seized victory.

Han Yeoreum soared high into the air again and again, lifted by sturdy, trustworthy hands.

Smiling brightly.

A smile worthy of the victor of the Holy Grail War.

* * *

“Then from now on, it’s our turn to begin.”

The JC ENM PR Team knew very well that one more week of war still remained.

If, by some chance, Eun Baekhap managed to break 10% ratings on the JTBS ratings graveyard, then from that moment onward, the throne of the Holy Grail War would belong to two women.

Han Yeoreum, who achieved 20% ratings on public broadcasting with a rookie male lead.

Eun Baekhap, who achieved 10% ratings on cable.

They could not split the pie between them.

Everything had to belong entirely to Han Yeoreum.

Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain.

Swift as the wind.

Orderly as the forest.

Fierce as fire.

Calm as the mountain.

They had to seize the high ground now.