madnovel Chapter 14 Who says pinned posts are your girlfriend?
Chapter 14 Who says pinned posts are your girlfriend?
"Congratulations! Now you're really the maknae (youngest member)."
After Luo Yingxi walked away, Zhao Enzhen leaned against the corridor wall and smiled at him.
"Yes, Senior Eunjin."
Jiang Yongtai smiled as well.
After the interview door closed behind him, the air in the corridor felt much lighter, and he was happy to accept that form of address.
"Where do you plan to start showing me around, senior?"
Zhao Enzhen tilted her head, pretending to be thinking.
Actually, Li Youting had told her last night that a handsome PD would be coming for an interview today, and that she would most likely become their colleague. At that time, she had already figured out how to be a qualified "tour guide".
"Hmm... let's start with our office."
She turned and walked to the other end of the corridor, her ponytail swaying gently behind her shoulder.
Jiang Yongtai followed behind her and began to look around at the building he would be entering and exiting every day from now on.
A faint aroma of coffee wafted in the air, emanating from some tea room, I couldn't tell.
"This is the editing room of the variety show production department, that's the sound effects room, and the next room is the color grading room."
Our team occupied half a floor on the sixth floor. Although it's called half a floor, it's only big enough to fit about forty people.
However, Youngseok oppa said that it's easier to manage fewer people; if there are too many, he won't be able to remember their names.
Zhao Enzhen walked and pointed, speaking slowly, but information kept pouring out in a stream.
Jiang Yongtai glanced into the half-open door of an editing room.
The editor was glued to his computer, munching on an energy bar, while the ashtray on his desk was overflowing.
He recalled the night he slept on the floor in the KBS editing room, and the floor there must have been about the same hardness as the one here.
"The prop room is on the seventh floor."
Zhao Enzhen pressed the elevator button. She let Jiang Yongtai go in first, then followed him in and pressed the button for the seventh floor.
Do you know where we borrowed that giant dragon ball from in "New Journey to the West"? Actually, it wasn't borrowed; our props team made it ourselves.
Made of foam and coated with gold powder, it looks incredibly impressive from a distance, but it's so light it feels like it's made of paper.
The elevator reached the seventh floor, and the door to the prop room was open. Inside, various props used in different shows were piled up. Pots and pans from "Three Meals a Day" and trendy items from "Mapo Handsome Boys" were on the same shelf.
Jiang Yongtai recognized a few items and lingered at the entrance for a few more glances. Zhao Enzhen was quite pleased with his expression during the visit.
As she went downstairs, she casually pointed to the conference room floor on the tenth floor and the staff canteen on the fourth floor, saying that the kimchi fried rice in the canteen was worth trying, but the spicy beef soup on Mondays should not be tried lightly, as it was "a menu left by the seniors to test their courage".
The two returned to the sixth floor, and Zhao Enzhen was about to take him to the rooftop to take a look. There was a small terrace there for employees to smoke and get some fresh air; the view was so-so, but it was very quiet.
Her phone suddenly rang in her pocket. She took it out, glanced at the caller ID, and frowned.
"Wait a minute... Yes, it's me. What? Wasn't that tape already...?"
She covered the microphone, mouthed "sorry" to Jiang Yongtai, and walked to the side to whisper a few words.
After hanging up the phone, she walked back quickly, her expression now in emergency-handling mode.
"Maknae, I'm sorry, there's a problem with a roll of materials at the editing room, I have to go there now."
"It's alright, Eunjin sunbaenim, you can go ahead and do your work. I'll just take a walk by myself."
"Are you okay on your own?"
Jiang Yongtai shrugged and smiled:
"I'm not a new employee on my first day at work."
Zhao Enzhen glanced at him and nodded.
"Okay, just don't go above the eighth floor. You can't get into the meeting rooms on those floors without recognizing the employee ID. If you can't find your way back, just message me."
After she finished speaking, she turned around and took two steps, then turned back and added another sentence.
"Don't forget the dinner party tonight! Meet on the first floor at 6:30!"
Jiang Yongtai waved to her, and Zhao Enzhen's ponytail disappeared around a corner at the end of the corridor.
He walked to the end of the sixth-floor corridor, next to a vending machine.
I suddenly remembered the KBS vending machine, which was louder than this one. Every time a drink rolled down, it would make a loud "thump" that echoed throughout the corridor.
In just a few days, they've moved to a different building.
He put his hands in his pockets and glanced out the window next to the vending machine.
The scenery in Sangam-dong is quite different from that in Yeouido. The buildings are newer, the streets are wider, and a few young people wearing headphones and work badges are smoking downstairs.
"Ginger PD".
Jiang Yongtai turned around.
Nan Shenghao was standing on the other side of the vending machine at some point, looking at the various colored canned drinks inside.
What would you like to drink?
"Minister," Jiang Yongtai bowed slightly, "a Coke will do."
Nan Shenghao reached out and pressed the button twice. The vending machine made two muffled sounds, and two cans of cola rolled down. He bent down to take them out, turned around and handed one can to Jiang Yongtai.
"Thank you, Minister."
"You don't need to be nervous."
As if reading his mind, Nan Shenghao opened his own can, tilted his head back, and took a sip.
"An interview is an interview, but not right now."
He gestured with his chin toward the rest area next to him, indicating that Jiang Yongtai should come over.
The rest area is by the window, with two gray sofas facing each other and a low table in between.
Nan Shenghao sat down, put the cola on the table, and leaned back into the sofa.
"Just now in the conference room, you said that KBS is a bad company. If someone from KBS hears you say that, it will be difficult for you to get around the three major broadcasting stations in the future."
"I know," Jiang Yongtai said.
"You know it, yet you still say it."
Nan Shenghao looked up and gave him a playful glance.
Jiang Yongtai did not answer immediately. He looked down at the Coca-Cola can in his hand, ran his thumb around the rim of the can, and wiped away the water droplets.
"Because what the minister just asked wasn't just a polite question."
Nam Seung-ho looked at him, paused, and then let out a low laugh.
"You really dare to answer anything."
He picked up the Coke, took a sip, and put it down, his tone already calm.
"But then again, your project is indeed interesting. In my 25 years of working on SBS programs, I've seen very few new projects that include that in their initial drafts.
He looked at Jiang Yongtai.
"But to be honest, what you lack most right now is ideas, not proof."
At CJ, there are two different evaluation systems for lead producers who have independently managed regular programs and for producers who have only done pilot episodes.
Whether you have the ability to carry this show from beginning to end is not up to anyone to say right now; you don't have that ability on your resume yet.
"Yes." Jiang Yongtai nodded, raised his head and looked directly at him.
"So 'Love Through Transfers' will be my first answer."
Nan Shenghao raised an eyebrow; this answer was even more direct than what he had given in the conference room.
He was still unsure whether this candor stemmed from confidence or from arrogance untested by reality.
"During your years at KBS, besides Ho-jin, who else were you close to?"
Jiang Yongtai frowned slightly. Nan Shenghao spoke casually, but he knew it wasn't.
"The seniors from Music Bank, later the main member of the '2 Days & 1 Night' team was Hojin, who formed a small team himself during the pilot episode."
Nan Shenghao nodded after listening and didn't ask any further questions.
"People who come from KBS have a common problem."
He put the Coke can down, his tone even more subdued than before.
"After enduring so much time there, I got used to waiting—waiting for broadcast schedules, waiting for availability, waiting for approval from above."
But CJ isn't terrestrial; here, good ideas aren't valuable, what's valuable is the speed at which they're filmed.
He paused.
"That's why I say what you lack most right now is proof."
Jiang Yongtai held the Coke can without immediately responding; he understood the other meaning behind those words.
Your pace at KBS isn't fast enough; I want to see how you catch up with CJ's speed.
"I'll pull out the timeline and show it to you as soon as possible."
Nan Shenghao glanced at him, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, picked up the cola and took another sip. This signal wasn't as obvious as the finger-tapping in the conference room.
"I definitely can't escape the dinner party tonight."
Nan Shenghao stood up and threw the empty can into the recycling bin.
"Young-seok's drinking capacity was already famous back in KBS, so you can decide for yourself."
He straightened his suit, took two steps, and then stopped.
"When you were answering Young-seok's questions before the interview ended..." He looked at Kang Young-tae.
"Whether you're genuinely thinking about how to take responsibility or just making excuses for the production team, you know it yourself... Keep it up."
Jiang Yongtai stood up and bowed in the direction Nan Shenghao had left.
Then he slowly sat back down, finished the last sip of cola in the can, and stood there holding the empty bottle, lost in thought.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and saw a message from Mina.
"Yongtai-san, are you done with the interview?"
Jiang Yongtai leaned back on the sofa and swiped a few times on his phone screen.
"Okay, approved. Onboarding will be next week."
After sending the message, he remembered how Mina was half asleep in the passenger seat a few days ago after returning from the barbecue restaurant.
She said back then, "I won't be asking you to play games for a while," but less than a week later, she was the one who messaged me first.
My phone vibrated.
"Congratulations."
There was only one word, ending with a period, and not even an emoji.
Jiang Yongtai stared at the period for two seconds.
This doesn't sound like something she would say. Usually, she's either sarcastic or retaliatory.
They would never throw out just one word when there was an opportunity to mock someone.
He thought for a moment and replied.
"Nan-chan, is there something you want to tell me?"
There was silence on the other end. The "typing" indicator on the screen flashed a few times, stopped, and then flashed again.
Then he received a photo.
Mina stood in front of the mirror in the practice room, dressed in her dance outfit, her hair tied up with a headband, and a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.
Her makeup was very light, and her expression seemed a little unnatural as the camera suddenly captured it; the fatigue in her eyes was first captured by the shutter.
The mirror behind her reflected the empty practice room, with a pair of worn-out sneakers on the floor, their laces undone, one of them lying askew.
A message was posted below the photo.
"I came back to practice dancing today."
Jiang Yongtai zoomed in on the photo and took a look.
Her posture was different from usual; her shoulders were slightly tucked in, as if they were being held together by an invisible rubber band from behind.
He turned off the photo.
"How is it?"
"Oh no, I feel like I'm a stranger to myself in the mirror."
"It's only been a few days, take it slow."
"Yes, I know."
After sending the message, she paused for a short while and then added another one.
"Did anyone give you a hard time during your interview?"
Jiang Yongtai looked at the line of text and smiled. She was exhausted herself, yet she still remembered to help him review the situation.
"Yes, but the senior who made things difficult for me just handed me a can of Coke."
That means they approve of you.
How did you know?
"A man who hands you a Coke can't be too bad-hearted."
Just as Jiang Yongtai was about to type, his phone vibrated again.
This time it wasn't text, but an emoji—a little penguin leaning against another penguin, with a small wooden sign on its head that read "Thank you for your hard work."
He looked at the two penguins and typed a line of text on the screen.
"Nan-chan".
"Um."
"You've worked hard too."
The other party has read the message but hasn't replied.
Jiang Yongtai put his phone in his pocket, stood up, and threw the empty Coke can into the trash can.
……
The gathering took place at a sausage restaurant in Sangam-dong, just two streets away from the CJ ENM building.
Na Young-seok's team booked half the store, and about forty people squeezed three long tables to the brim.
Kim Sung-woo was sitting next to Kang Young-tae, pouring wine into his glass.
This kid had his interview a day earlier than him, so the threshold for the writer group was obviously not that high for him.
"Writer Li Youting asked me a few ideas for the project, asked me to write an outline on the spot, and then it was approved."
He put down the bottle of liquor and poured himself only half a glass.
"Brother, I think job interviews are easier than writing articles."
Jiang Yongtai pursed his lips, glanced at him sideways, and raised his cup to clink with his.
"Did you drink too much in front of Young-seok last time, that's why you only poured half a glass tonight?"
"I can't afford to embarrass myself again tonight!"
Kim Sung-woo gripped the cup tightly, as if giving himself a pre-battle pep talk.
Zhao Enzhen smiled and leaned over from the opposite side, holding a piece of freshly grilled beef intestine between her chopsticks.
"Writer Kim Sung-woo, you're now the maknae (youngest) writer in the variety show production department, and PD Kang Young-tae is the maknae PD. From now on, you two will be the bottom duo in our team!"
An older PD standing nearby, holding a wine glass, chimed in, "Eunjin, you've been the youngest member for two years, and now you've finally made it."
"Of course!" Zhao Enzhen said matter-of-factly, putting her chopsticks on the table.
"Last week during the meeting, Yoo-jung unnie mentioned that two handsome newcomers were coming and told me to get ready. I thought I was in for a treat, but then..."
She glanced at Kim Sung-woo, her expression filled with regret that the product didn't match the description.
There's only one!
Li Youting sat at the other end of the table, wrapping a grilled sausage in lettuce and putting it in his mouth.
"Eunjin, I'm not lying to you. Isn't Yongtae handsome enough? I even want him to be the male lead in my next drama."
"And you think you can relax now that you're rid of the maknae? Yongtae and Sungwoo are your responsibility, you're mentoring newbies, and you'll be held accountable if anything goes wrong."
The table erupted in laughter.
Zhao Enzhen's smile froze on her face as she glanced back at Jiang Yongtai.
"...I take back what I just said, the bottom three."
Jiang Yongtai smiled, picked up his cup, and said nothing.
After several rounds of drinks, a row of empty liquor bottles had been laid out on the table.
Luo Yingxi, holding his cup, switched seats with Li Youting and sat down next to Jiang Yongtai.
As if receiving some kind of signal, several veteran PDs gathered around Kim Sung-woo with bottles of alcohol, while Jo Eun-jin was also pulled by the writers' group to review last week's prop list.
Suddenly, space appeared next to Jiang Yongtai, who knew it was to make room for him and Luo Yingxi.
"You seemed alright? You didn't seem nervous during the interview." Luo Yingxi put his cup on the table.
"It's alright." Jiang Yongtai smiled at him.
Although there were some unexpected incidents, I handled them fairly well.
"Senior Nam Seung-ho is not someone to be trifled with," Na Young-seok said bluntly.
"Some of the questions he asked you today were outside the scope of what we had discussed before."
"Indeed. But... my senior handed me a Coke."
Luo Yingxi raised an eyebrow. "That's good, you passed his test."
He picked up the bottle and poured half a glass for Jiang Yongtai, then filled his own glass.
"There's something you need to know: Senior Li Minghan is my senior, and also his senior."
But CJ ENM isn't one of the three major broadcasters; it's not a place where a team can sit at a single desk until retirement. The structure is constantly changing, and there are considerations at higher levels.
He raised his glass and clinked it against Jiang Yongtai's.
"You're not joining my team now, you're joining tvN's variety show production department."
Lee Myung-han is the one who brought you from KBS, and Nam Seung-ho is the one who decides whether you can stay at tvN. You can't afford to offend either of them.
Jiang Yongtai remained silent for a moment, then picked up his glass and clinked it with the glass.
"I understand, Youngseok oppa."
Luo Yingxi finished his drink, stood up, patted him on the shoulder, then stepped aside and glanced at the other side of the table.
Several veteran PDs were already walking this way with bottles of soju in their hands and beaming smiles.
"Don't just talk the talk, let's focus on surviving tonight first."
Luo Yingxi's words soon came true.
Once the toasting rounds started, the veteran PDs showed no sign of stopping. As Jiang Yongtai drank, his facial expression changed from sober to slightly tipsy, and then from slightly tipsy to trying hard to control himself.
The writers next to him were discussing the direction of their new project, and the laughter of several female writers mingled with the sizzling of the grill, while the glass of soju in front of him had been filled countless times.
In the latter half of the meal, he could only lean against the back of his chair, panting, his eyes squinting, and a defiant expression on his lips that said, "I can still drink more."
Kim Sung-woo's situation is even worse.
From the third round onwards, this kid was slumped over the table, one hand still clutching his wine glass, muttering something like, "Senior Youngseok, I'll never drink too much again."
Li Youting took the cup from his hand and placed it where he couldn't reach it.
Zhao Enzhen stood by the table, looked at the two people and shook her head, but she had already secretly slipped three bottles of hangover medicine into Jiang Yongtai's coat pocket.
When the show ended, Jiang Yongtai was helped up from his chair by Zhao Enzhen and an old PD.
His eyes were half-open, and he was no longer able to maintain his sense of direction on his own.
Kim Sung-woo was carried out, and one of his shoes was kicked off at some point, landing under a chair in the sausage shop.
"Where does he live?" the old PD asked, supporting Jiang Yongtai's arm.
"I don't know. Writer Kim is already like that..."
"Someone has to take him home," another PD chimed in.
Li Youting stood at the store entrance, looking at Jiang Yongtai who was almost unconscious, and reached into his coat pocket to take out his phone.
The screen lit up. There was no password set. She swiped open the contacts, scrolled to the top, and pinned a name to the top.
"Didn't Yongtai just say he didn't have a girlfriend?" Someone nearby leaned over for a look.
"Who is this?"
"The pinned post must be about my girlfriend."
Luo Yingxi stood behind without saying a word, a "I knew it" smile appearing on his lips.
Li Youting glared at them, his finger already pressing the call button.
"Hey, everyone, be quiet!"
The phone rang, and she put it on speakerphone and held it up to her face.
It rang three times before the other end answered.
"Yo-bo-se-yo?"
A female voice came from the speaker, sounding somewhat puzzled.
The entire store entrance fell silent instantly. Jiang Yongtai, who was leaning against the wall, twitched his eyelids and instinctively frowned, as if the voice had penetrated the dizziness brought on by alcohol and touched a nerve that was still awake.
Li Youting looked down at the name on the screen.
"Hello, is this Saka xi?"