“You can’t be ing serious.” She spoke while her voice was still rough from drinking down the alcohol. She shook the bottle in to get the last bitter drops and slammed her glass on the bench, making Woojin flinch at the clang. Woojin had expected this to be her reaction to his pitch. She never seemed to be a fan of his ideas, despite being his mentor.
“I’m being very serious.” He gritted out.
Jaehwa’s wrinkled hands rubbed her face with frustration. It’s clear that Jaehwa was attractive once upon a time, but she gave up on caring about her appearance years ago. The stress she had faced throughout her life made her seem older than she really is.
“You’re a ing idiot.” She scowled.
Woojin laughed, shaking his head. You know cussing at me won’t achieve anything, right?” Woojin was used to Jaehwa’s liberal use of language, but he just wanted a proper response from her right now.
Jaehwa sighed, as she tilted her body on the torn bar stool to face the boy she had been mentoring for the past five years.

“You can see how stupid this is, right?”
Woojin shrugged his shoulders dismissively. It may be a stupid idea, but stupid is different from bad.
“How on earth will you get this on air? No ing television network in their right mind would air this .”
Woojin dragged his finger around the rim of his glass and smirked. “I know you have connections.”
Despite Woojin only knowing Jaehwa as an unlikable alcoholic, he was aware she used to be friends with people in high places. It’s something she’s used throughout her career. Jaehwa stared at him dumbfounded.
“When the did I say I would help you?”
Woojin rolled his eyes. “You didn’t, but I know you will.”
“You cocky son of a .” Woojin smiled, "So that's a yes?"


 

Woojin had already started pitching his idea around, but TV networks seemed reluctant to take the risk. He knew that Jaehwa was talking with some of her friends in high places, but he was getting impatient. And then the produce scandal hit, Woojin wasn’t surprised at all. It’s to be expected from such a disgusting industry. All it did was fuel his anger, and the desire to get his passion project on the air. The door chimed as Woojin stared at his drink. The produce scandal had been both a blessing and a curse for his pitch, on one hand, it was relevant, but it was that very relevancy that made network televisions nervous. Woojin tasted the bitterness on his tongue. He was starting to feel like the last couple of years running around like a headless chicken wouldn’t amount to anything. Who was he kidding? He’s a novice journalist who would take a risk on him?

“Indulging in your own misery, have we swapped places?” He felt Jaehwa sit down next to him.
He scoffed. "Focusing on a project for years only to get nowhere will do that to you.”
Jaehwa poured herself a drink while humming. “That’s a joy of our profession Woojin, you’ll have many more projects that don’t pan out.”
Woojin finally looked up at Jaehwa only to find her busy looking lovingly at her drink. Leading him to roll his eyes.

“Jeez, thanks for the encouragement.”
“Woojin, you need to stop pitying yourself. This is life. You’re not going to make it if you can’t accept that.”
Woojin bit his lip “You're right… I- this was just personal for me.”
Jaehwa raised her eyebrows. “That’s dangerous, Woojin, but lucky for you, this doesn’t seem like it’s gonna be a failed project.” Woojin froze. Time came to a stop before he turned to glare at his mentor.

“You better not be ing with me right now.” His voice came out harsh. Jaehwa cackled.
“As if I have the energy for that, my old friend Lee Junsu has some connections from Netflix they're very interested”

Woojin rubbed his forehead, processing the information.“Netflix? Don’t they only release shows weekly if they’re made by another network?” Jaehwa shrugged.
“I think they’re looking for one to partner with, but if no one is willing to, seems like they’re willing to try something new.” Woojin stared blankly at his glass before pouring himself another drink.
“Wow, don’t be too thankful.”
Woojin took a sip.“Sorry, thank you. I think I’m just in shock.”
“Hmm… But Woojin, if this is going to work, you’re going to have to make sacrifices. You have no pull in this industry. You can’t be too emotional about this or it’s not going to work.” Jaehwa shot Woojin a stern look. He just took another shot in response.
 

Woojin sat down in the slightly torn booth. “Am I late?” He said, raising his eyebrow. Despite coming exactly at the agreed meeting time  Jaehwa and Junsu were already invested in a conversation when he arrived.
Jaehwa leaned back in her seat.
“No, but we had some things to discuss first.” She pointed to Junsu. “I believe you guys have met before.” Junsu nodded, putting his hand out to shake.
“It’s good to see you again, Woojin.” Woojin eyed the man cautiously before taking his hand.
“Likewise.”
Junsu had always been an awkward, fumbling man who somehow managed to have great prestige in the industry. He supposes the man did create impressive work, but he definitely didn’t have the charisma to match that.

“So.” Jaehwa clapped her hands together. “It’s time to get to business.” Junsu nodded his head as Jaehwa began to speak.“Netflix is very keen on your idea, and is open to setting up a meeting with you.” Woojin took the words in while following the look on Jaehwa’s face. He could anticipate the “but” coming. “But your idea is unconventional,” Junsu said as he wrung his hands nervously. “It’s hard to work out an appropriate balance between a survival show and a piece of investigative journalism.”
Woojin sighed.“I’m already very aware.”

Jaehwa poured Woojin a drink pushing it across the table to him.
“Right now, the people attached to this project are two investigative journalists and a prestigious director. Netflix doesn’t have confidence in us to create an entertaining survival show.” Woojin picked up his drink, taking a sip.
In all honesty, he couldn’t care less about making an entertaining survival show. He just wanted a platform that would actually get through to the general public, and idol music fans who wanted to shut their eyes and ears.

“How hard would it be, really? The format is pretty basic.”
Junsu fidgeted with his glass. “You underestimate the difficulty of creating reality TV. Woojin.”
Woojin couldn’t help but roll his eyes, taking another sip. Jaehwa clicked her tongue, clearly irritated at this attitude.
“Netflix wants Kim Junghoon to be a part of the creation of the show. They won’t do it without him co-signing. He’s already agreed.”

Woojin, in his 30 years of life, had never done a spit take until that moment. He felt the alcohol dripping down his shirt. He watched as Junsu took off his glasses to wipe the liquid off with a small frown. Jaehwa just shook her head, forehead in her palm.

“, no, no way.” Woojin picked up his phone and began heading for the door. He could hear Jaehwa following his steps out into the cold air.
“Woojin stop being so ing stubborn. This is how the industry works.” Woojin turned to face her, glaring.
“You seriously expect me to work with Kim Junghoon? The same Kim Junghoon who worked on the first season of Produce 101, who worked with a man who described a show filled with children as healthy ography?” Woojin wasn’t sure when he started shouting, but he noticed people on the street giving him weird looks.
Jaehwa’s harsh expression softened.
“I understand why you hate him, but he didn’t say that. He was just working on a show as he was hired to do.”
Woojin scowled. “Yeah, maybe he didn't say it himself, but he’s constantly worked on shows that exploit people that take advantage of them! For ing entertainment, I won’t be a part of that.” This time he didn’t give Jaehwa a chance to respond. Instead, he hailed a taxi closing his eyes as he got in.

Woojin’s head hurt as the memories of the previous night came flooding back. He sighed, looking at the empty soju bottle on his nightstand. Picking up his phone, the light burnt his eyes. He noticed a couple of missed calls from Jaehwa and an unread text.

Jaehwa: You’ve never met him, at least have a conversation with him before letting all your work go down the drain.

Woojin stared at the text, blinking at it and seeing it blur. He closed his eyes tight, not knowing what the he should do now.

Woojin had tried to convince the higher-ups at Netflix that they could do the show without Junghoon, but they weren’t having it. He was their guarantee for ratings, and in turn, profits. Being behind shows like Single Inferno, Woojin did get it from a business perspective he did. But that didn’t stop his frustration and rage over the situation.
So there he sat opposite the man he had built up as a boogie man in his head while Jaehwa went to grab them drinks. He heard people laughing and chatting filling up the bar Junghoon was scrolling through his phone while Woojin tapped his foot anxiously. Jaehwa broke the silence between them by placing down the glasses with a clang. Junghoon put aside his phone and smiled at Jaehwa.
“Thank you, you’re very kind. Are you sure you wouldn’t want to be a housewife?” Jaehwa just rolled her eyes at the comment seating herself next to Woojin.
Woojin scowled and took a sip of his own drink.
 

Junghoon smiled at him.“Look, let’s get straight to the point. I know you dislike me, but the reality is your show isn’t going to be successful without me on board, so you have a choice to make. Accept my involvement or say goodbye to your dream” Junghoon leaned forward and put his hand out as an invitation to shake.
“Well, what do you say? We don’t have to like each other, we just have to remain civil.”

Woojin’s brain was wiring. He had to decide if trading off parts of his morals was worth it. But he still felt like Produce Angel would have a good net outcome. He looked over at Jaehwa who was eyeing him, and nodding her head in the direction of Junghoon’s hand. Woojin frowned, attempting not to overthink it. He gulped down a shot that burned his throat, then grabbed the other man’s greasy palm and held on a little too tightly as he stared him right in the eye. Junghoon was smirking back at him. If he was going to do this, make a deal with the devil. He needed the devil to know that he wasn’t a pushover.
 

Woojin stared down at his hands. He felt nauseous why the did he even agree to this? He felt a nudge on his shoulder. Jaehwa was staring down at him with a raised brow holding out a bottle of water. He took it with a small smile.
Jaehwa sighed and sat next to him on the hard plastic chair. “You doing okay?”
Woojin chuckled. “Not really. Why did I even agree to this? It makes no sense.” He said. while wiping sweat from his forehead.
“Hmm, I mean Junghoon wasn’t wrong in the end, though. You, being the mysterious handsome journalist, the brains behind the show as well as an MC became a big talking point on social media.”
“Yeah, of course, noise marketing is his ing brand. Now some people think I’m a creep who just wants to be close to pretty girls.”
Jaehwa frowned.“Stop googling yourself.” She said. Before hitting the back of his head.“Ow!” He yelped.
A staff member Woojin vaguely recognised walked into the room.“You’re on in 10.”
Woojin blinked a couple of times. “I think I’m gonna be sick.” Without even moving, Jaehwa held out a trash can.
“I wasn’t being literal!”