Cheat day

Zero (5)

Friday.

I took Mu-keun-ji to the office for a meeting with PD Park Sang-cheol.

As Mu-keun-ji opened the car door halfway, she turned her head.

“You definitely need to negotiate for a higher appearance fee.”

“Yeah, I remember what I learned yesterday.”

When we signed the contract for Season 1 of “Baekban Ttara,” the subscriber count was low, so we had no choice, but now the situation is different. She drilled it into me that I must negotiate for a higher fee.

“Well then, have a good time.”

“I’ll be back before 5.”

After saying our goodbyes, I headed straight to the WTV building.

Upon entering the meeting room with guidance, I saw Joo Ji-seung, Cha Ji-chan, and Baek Woo-jin already there.

It was the first time the four of us had gathered since “Walking to the Sky,” but since we work together every week, it didn’t feel particularly special.

“Hey, I heard you’re doing shorts. When are you starting?” Baek Woo-jin asked.

“I’ve made them.”

“Really? When?”

“Yesterday. I haven’t uploaded them yet, but I’ll start putting them up one by one from tomorrow.”

“What’s the name?” Joo Ji-seung asked.

“Ah. Just listen. I had a lot of candidates, you know? ‘One Bite,’ ‘Snack Size,’ ‘Half Dish,’ ‘Hole-in-the-Wall Store,’ ‘Delivery Side Dishes,’ and so on?”

“And?”

“So Eun-ji said ‘One Bite’ sounded good, so let’s go with that. I opposed it because I hate the phrase ‘just one bite’ more than anything.”

“So?”

“That’s why I named it ‘One Bite.’”

The three of them squinted their eyes.

“Doesn’t that sound weird?”

“The revenue from the shorts will be split 50% between Eun-ji and the editor. We agreed to operate independently, so we went with the head of the project’s opinion.”

“True. You probably don’t have time to focus on anything else now.”

Cha Ji-chan yawned, apparently pushing himself too hard to lose body fat these days.

“You do the same thing.”

“Yeah, but I’ll check the final version. If there’s a problem later, it’ll be frustrating. It’s less annoying to at least look it over first.”

That’s a valid point.

If there’s a mistake in the video, incorrect information, or something that could cause social controversy, the fallout will solely land on the YouTuber.

Later, even if the editor messes up, the responsibility falls on the YouTuber.

That’s why I think it’s important to personally verify everything. Not just me and Cha Ji-chan, but also Joo Ji-seung and Baek Woo-jin all check everything themselves before uploading.

The information about MSG and zero products was all wrong, leading to misunderstandings among people.

We need to be responsible to prevent such misunderstandings.

“Nice to meet you.”

PD Park Sang-cheol and the writers entered.

“Hello.”

After exchanging introductions, we immediately shared the agenda for today’s meeting.

“The concept for Season 2 of ‘Baekban Ttara’ is cost-effectiveness. With prices being high these days, there’s public sentiment that dining out is a burden. So, we plan to visit tasty yet affordable restaurants in various regions.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“We’ll maintain the same approach as before. You can freely enjoy travel and dining within the set budget.”

“That amount isn’t enough to enjoy anything,” Baek Woo-jin grumbled.

During Season 1, we always faced budget issues because the production team set the allowance too tightly.

“That’s why we prepared a game to play during travel,” he continued.

“A game?”

“If you succeed, you’ll get extra spending money.”

“And if you fail?”

“You’ll just have to settle for the regular noodles instead of the black bean noodles.”

“Doesn’t that mean you’ll end up with plain noodles instead of black bean noodles?” Baek Woo-jin asked.

“Woo-jin, hyung isn’t that bad of a person. If you keep saying that, Ji-seung will misunderstand.”

“It’s not a misunderstanding; it’s true. This hyung is really mean.”

Baek Woo-jin said this loudly, clearly wanting everyone to hear.

We all laughed, including the writers, which made PD Park Sang-cheol sigh heavily.

“I think it’s okay. At least you’re getting some minimum amount, right?”

When I stepped in, one of the writers exclaimed.

“That’s because PD said it would be good to add more entertainment elements this time. Since Baek Seung-yong showed such a good side.”

It’s a compliment, but it also makes me uneasy.

“So, we’ll start with 0 won, and you’ll accumulate money by playing games.”

“Ugh.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“See? This is totally evil! What did you do with the production budget?”

“This isn’t right.”

As we each chimed in with our disbelief, PD Park Sang-cheol stepped in to calm us down.

“No, no. It’s not as difficult as you think. For example, guessing a person.”

When PD Park signaled, one of the writers showed a picture of a person’s face on their phone.

“…”

Silence fell over the room.

I couldn’t even guess who it was.

“Don’t you know? This is a super popular idol right now.”

“Come on, how would we know about idols?”

“I got it! You’re trying to trick us. You bring in a famous idol, and if we can’t recognize them, what are we supposed to do about it?”

Baek Woo-jin, who had been getting teased, reacted dramatically, but I wasn’t much different.

“That’s a difficult question. How about this?”

PD Park showed us the face of a former president.

“No.”