Popular Psychopath [Novel] Chapter 19

Chapter 19: He Crafted It 100% Himself

“I am bringing this up far too late. Really… thank you so much for saving me.”

“It was simply what had to be done. Anyone would have done the same in that situation.”

“That is not something just anyone could do.”

Jung Seola and Kyuha exchanged words, and guided by Seola’s proactive lead, the distance between them vanished rapidly.

“Kyuha, could you lend me your phone for a second?”

Taking Kyuha’s phone, Jung Seola punched in her own number and hit the call button.

– Life Savior Kyuha

“I spent days agonizing over how to repay such a massive debt, but I couldn’t find an answer. So, I plan to just keep paying you back for a long, long time.”

“No… You don’t have to go that far.”

“I do! I have to. Anyway, I look forward to working with you.”

Kyuha scratched his head as he watched Jung Seola walk away.

***

What does a trailer signify for a drama?

Inherently, a trailer aims to carve the drama into the public’s consciousness through the most effective means possible, driving viewership.

Hooking the audience and sparking their interest within a fleeting timeframe stands paramount. This plays a critical role in a drama’s box office success, elevating the importance of trailer production day by day.

In fact, the finale trailer for the QBC drama [Yearning]—which birthed the ‘Yearning Addict’ syndrome—still circulates on social media as a legendary masterpiece.

This is why trailers are often heralded as works of art in their own right.

Producing a drama trailer typically falls onto the shoulders of the youngest assistant director. Though brief in length, the assistant director orchestrates everything from composition and editing to the overarching concept and subtitles. It serves as a golden opportunity to showcase their raw capability.

Naturally, Lee Youngchul, the youngest assistant director tasked with crafting the trailer for the ‘Pygmalion Effect’, carried an immense burden.

A first trailer crafted during one’s assistant director days essentially doubled as a directorial debut.

Imagining the electrifying moment his meticulously planned and edited trailer would broadcast to viewers across the nation, Lee Youngchul buried himself in the editing room, pulling multiple all-nighters.

“The core of a trailer lies in the hook and the hype.”

Analyzing historically successful trailers revealed a common formula: weaponizing provocative scenes or splicing out-of-context dialogue to breed rampant curiosity.

Forced to condense a drama’s entire allure into thirty fleeting seconds, this approach was inevitable.

Some mocked the task, assuming a thirty-second video could be whipped up in a single day.

In reality, stretching footage was easy; compressing a sprawling narrative into half a minute demanded agonizing deliberation and grueling effort.

After days of intense contemplation, Lee Youngchul locked in his concept.

“No matter how I look at it, utilizing the scene of the male lead sculpting on the beach and his first encounter with the female lead is the strongest play.”

A senior assistant director had once imparted a vital piece of advice: while the director knows the entire narrative and understands the grand context, the viewers remain entirely blind. The goal is to stimulate their curiosity without ever fracturing the story’s plausibility.

“He was right. Plausibility is key.”

Lee Youngchul allocated ten seconds to showcase the dark, suffocating depths of Sichang’s character. Fifteen seconds were dedicated to Kyuha sculpting under the moonlit ocean sky. The final five seconds captured the fateful encounter with Nayeon.

“Perfect. First, hook their curiosity by highlighting that the actor sculpted it himself. Next, the accidental meeting with the female lead, and cap it off with their coincidental reunion on campus! Man, even I feel compelled to watch the next episode after seeing this.”

A satisfied smirk graced Lee Youngchul’s lips, though his brow soon furrowed again.

“Hmm… The background music has to be this.”

Having listened to all seven tracks of the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ OST, he knew nothing synchronized with the drama’s atmosphere better than the ‘Song of Yearning’ sung by Heart Signal’s Han Gyeoul.

“It doesn’t sound like a modern pop song, yet it avoids feeling tacky. The melody is so addictive I can’t stop listening to it.”

Chasing the thirty-second aesthetic of a perfect trailer, Lee Youngchul kept the editing room lights burning through the night. And when the first broadcast trailer for the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ finally aired, the public response ignited into a roaring inferno.

– ‘Pygmalion Effect’ Finally Drops First Broadcast Trailer – Kyunghyang Sports
– TVM’s New Drama ‘Pygmalion Effect’ Trailer Revealed, Showcasing Song Kyuha and Jung Seola’s Chemistry – Culture News
– Former Jasper Idol Jung Seola: “The Pygmalion Effect is a project I poured my soul into! I filmed it with immense pride.” – OSEM

[User1: Oh! The trailer is finally out!! But did the actor actually carve that sand sculpture?]
[User2: Are you an idiot? Obviously a stunt double did it.]
[User3: No, the director already confirmed the male lead did it himself.]
[User4: Damn… The sculpture quality is insane, how is that even possible?]

[User5: Wow, but Jung Seola is ridiculously pretty T_T Is that pure vibe even real?]
[User6: Exactly lol. I found myself wondering if she was always this pretty.]

And three days later.

Amidst endless chatter and controversy, the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ finally premiered on TVM.

***

Having already endured a wave of unwanted notoriety from the arson incident, public curiosity regarding the actual substance of the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ had reached a boiling point.

Kyuha, Team Leader Han Junghee, Manager Bonggu, and PR Team Leader Chae Sora gathered to watch the premiere.

“Huu… It will be a success! Don’t worry, Kyuha. The media sentiment is looking solid too.”

“You seem to be the one worrying the most, Team Leader.”

“Excuse me?? No, I am perfectly fine! It is not like this is my first rodeo. Hohoho.”

Despite her bravado, Han Junghee couldn’t suppress her nerves. This was, after all, the first lead role for Song Kyuha, the very first actor she had personally scouted.

“Oh? It’s starting.”

Manager Bonggu pointed at the massive TV in the conference room as episode one of the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ began.

The four individuals in the room glued their eyes to the screen, soon becoming so immersed they practically held their breath.

An hour vanished in a flash, concluding with the preview for episode two. The premiere had officially ended.

“Whoa, that was really good…”

Manager Bonggu voiced his initial thoughts.

“The editing is incredibly crisp, and the drama turned out fantastic. On the surface, it looks like a typical melodrama, but they expertly wove in elements that will captivate the younger demographic. The immersion is undeniable.”

Director Han Junghee evaluated the piece not as a simple viewer, but through the sharp lens of a producer and critic.

“I enjoyed it too. But I wonder what the viewership ratings will look like?”

The PR Team Leader asked the most critical question.

“Well… I can’t predict that part either. I just hope we break the 2% mark…”

***

How are TV viewership ratings calculated?

Most assume ratings reflect a survey of every household possessing a television, but reality dictates otherwise.

Typically, a sample of households representing the population is selected through a meticulous and complex preliminary investigation.

This sample consists of roughly 4,200 households. A device called a ‘People Meter’ is installed in these homes to harvest data, which is then transmitted to the Nielsen headquarters at 2 AM to calculate the final ratings.

[‘TVM Pygmalion Effect’ Peaks at 2.9% – Nielsen Korea Nationwide]

The premiere score for the Pygmalion Effect had arrived.

“2.9% is not bad at all.”

Relief washed over Team Leader Han Junghee at the sight of the 2.9% figure.

While not a monumental blockbuster, it firmly secured a moderate success.

Even ‘Walkie-Talkie’, the most successful cable drama in history, only debuted at 4.3%.

For a melodrama—a genre notorious for struggling with ratings—2.9% was an immensely encouraging start.

“It would be great if it just keeps climbing steadily from here.”

Perhaps the heavens heard Han Junghee’s wish. The viewership graph for the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ charted a relentless upward trajectory, shattering the 6% mark by the halfway point at episode 8.

However, the true reason the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ dominated headlines was the explosive buzz generated by its rabid fanbase in their 20s and 30s.

In fact, on the domestic drama daily search rankings of the portal site Naeve, the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ sat proudly in 3rd place.

Considering that ‘Successor of the Sun’, a terrestrial broadcast behemoth that eclipsed 15% in ratings, sat at 5th place, this starkly highlighted the sheer cultural impact of the ‘Pygmalion Effect’.

[User1: How am I supposed to wait until next week for another episode of Pygmalion?]
[User2: Ah, please give Nayeon and Sichang more sweet moments together. Writer-nim T_T]
[User3: What are we going to do with our Sichang’s puppy dog charm T_T He only has eyes for the female lead.]
[User4: Writer and Director, hand over the next episode immediately!!]

***

“Why do you think the ‘Pygmalion Effect’ is receiving so much love, Miss Jung Seola?”

Scheduled for an interview with an entertainment reporter, Jung Seola fell into a brief moment of contemplation at NewsPia Reporter Lee Junga’s question.

“Hmm… I believe empathy through emotional projection is the biggest factor. A man who sealed his heart away, forcing himself to live a ‘normal’ life, and a woman who feels deep compassion and maternal instinct toward him. Watching the fresh, innocent romance unique to university life, and witnessing the gradual thawing of Sichang’s frozen heart… I think it grants the viewers a sense of empathy and vicarious satisfaction.”

“Thank you for the insight! For my next question… Did Actor Song Kyuha genuinely create the sculptures seen in the drama? The internet is fiercely debating this.”

“I can confirm that without a shadow of a doubt. He crafted them 100% himself. There were zero stunt doubles involved.”

“That is truly astonishing. Moving on… This might be a sensitive topic, but it was a massive incident that dominated the news. There were reports that Actor Song Kyuha saved you from a near-fatal situation during the resort fire. Detailed accounts of that night remain unknown. Could you share what happened? Feel free to skip this if you are uncomfortable.”

Jung Seola hesitated for a moment before hardening her resolve and unraveling the story.

“Honestly, the reality of that night was far more severe than the reports suggested. I missed the timing to escape. The flames and smoke barricaded the path down, and my consciousness was fading fast. Truthfully, I had given up. I couldn’t see any way to survive. Staring death in the face, the thought of dying before I could ever truly act felt so incredibly unfair. And just as I was on the verge of losing consciousness completely, the door shattered open, and Kyuha appeared.”

“I thought it was a dream. To hallucinate my co-star, Kyuha, right before my death… I figured I must have really wanted to act. Then, I blacked out. I only found out later that he had actually torn through the inferno and climbed to the fourth floor solely to save me. Hearing that left me utterly speechless.”

“Wow… Song Kyuha is truly incredible. Plunging into a fire consumed by toxic smoke without professional firefighting gear is a monumental feat… Then, having worked alongside him since, what kind of person is Actor Song Kyuha?”

“Setting aside the fact that he is my savior, he is someone I can learn an immense amount from. He isn’t overly affectionate or loud, but he silently and meticulously looks after every single staff member. Above all else, watching him act as if he is possessed by another human being constantly inspires and pushes me to be better.”

“I see. I feel personally gratified to have uncovered so many hidden stories about the two lead actors of the hit drama ‘Pygmalion Effect’ today. This concludes our interview. Thank you for your time.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Reporter.”

The following day, Jung Seola’s interview splashed across magazines and news portals, sparking an unexpected reaction.