Chapter 4: The Prophecy of a Flop

“I’ve processed your payment. We’ll let you know when your drink is ready with this pager.”

Owner Yang handed the man his card and a pager just as the part-timer emerged from the back, approaching the counter.

“Owner Yang, didn’t you say we needed to put up these posters?”

“Oh, my head. I completely forgot.”

Owner Yang pressed a hand to her forehead, momentarily lost in thought, seemingly organizing the day’s tasks in her mind.

“Jung-eun, could you put those posters on the main door, under the counter here, and on that pillar and wall over there? If you see any empty spots upstairs, put them there too.”

“Now? But I still have to make the special milk tea and the hop lemon tea that just came in…”

A hint of distress colored the part-timer’s voice.

“I can make those myself. I don’t need to keep an eye on the cookies baking constantly.”

Having quietly listened to their conversation, Yeon-ho approached the counter.

“Would you like some help putting up the posters?”

“The posters? Oh, no, young man, it’s fine. You’re not even an employee, I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

“I don’t really have anything to do while I wait. Just consider it payment for the milk tea.”

“The milk tea was a bribe from my mistake today. You’re quite the stickler for rules, aren’t you?”

Despite her words, Owner Yang feigned defeat and handed the bundle of posters to Yeon-ho.

“What kind of posters are these?” he asked, assuming they were for a new menu item or an event.

The answer, however, was entirely unexpected.

“It’s Han Tae-young’s new drama!”

“Cold Reading?”

“Rider-nim, you know that drama?”

The part-timer’s eyes widened in surprise, clearly astonished that the title had sprung so readily from Yeon-ho’s lips. It was rare for a man to know the name of a drama that hadn’t even aired yet.

“Are you perhaps a Han Tae-young fan… no, that can’t be right, you’re a man. Ah! You must be a Shim Ye-ji fan, then? You know it because Shim Ye-ji is the female lead!”

“Not really.”

Yeon-ho rubbed the back of his neck as if he’d been asked an awkward question.

“Oh? You’re not a Shim Ye-ji fan?”

“Honestly, Jung-eun, does he have to be a fan of someone to know it? It’s one of the most anticipated dramas of the year. Anyone who uses the internet would have heard of it at least once.”

“Besides,” Owner Yang continued, “do you have any idea how much investment went into *Cold Reading* because it’s Han Tae-young’s new project?”

Owner Yang presented her general argument, yet Yeon-ho hadn’t learned about Han Tae-young’s drama from the internet.

‘If I tell them I’ve actually already watched the entire drama, they’ll think I’m crazy, won’t they?’

Yeon-ho swallowed the now lukewarm milk tea, his mind drifting back to the dream where he had suffered an accident.

It was a four-month-long dream, unfolding endlessly like a daily soap opera.

In that dream, which he now feared might have been reality rather than mere fantasy, Yeon-ho had watched *Cold Reading* air. By “watched,” he meant he had literally viewed it. Yeon-ho had been a dedicated viewer, tuning in for every single episode from the first to the very last.

Truth be told, Yeon-ho hadn’t watched dramas since giving up his acting career. His exceptional viewing of *Cold Reading* was due to the caregiver of an elderly patient who shared his hospital room.

This night caregiver visited three times a week—on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays—and two of those days coincided with *Cold Reading*’s broadcast. Thus, Yeon-ho had been compelled to watch *Cold Reading*, quite against his own will.

Yeon-ho found himself questioning once more if all of this was simply a delusion. Perhaps he had unconsciously encountered information about *Cold Reading* somewhere, and it had simply manifested in his dream?

‘But I remember the entire plot, every single episode. The ending, the twists—everything. I even recall the names of characters not featured on the poster. Could this truly be just a delusion or a prophetic dream?’

Yeon-ho unrolled the tightly bound poster. The first thing his eyes landed on wasn’t the lead actors, Han Tae-young or Shim Ye-ji, but a minor male character whose face was tucked away in a corner. This was Baek Hwi-kyung, who played Han Tae-young’s sworn brother in the drama.

Though Baek Hwi-kyung’s screen time was limited, his impact and influence on the drama had far surpassed that of the main lead, Han Tae-young.

“Owner Yang, why are we putting up drama posters in the store? Are you secretly a Han Tae-young fan?”

“Oh, come on, Jung-eun. That’s not it at all. You know my type is more the round, teddy bear kind.”

“Though, if the drama’s a hit, I might become a fan,” Owner Yang muttered to herself with a mysterious smile, then grabbed the part-timer’s shoulder and asked seriously.

“Jung-eun, you’re a drama fanatic, aren’t you? What kind of ratings do you think *Cold Reading* will get? It’ll at least match the drama Han Tae-young won an award for last year, right?”

“I wouldn’t say I’m a drama fanatic. I’m more of a grade-grubber—”

The part-timer clamped her mouth shut with a ‘hmph,’ apparently realizing she had almost let a vulgar term slip.

“Jung-eun? Why did you stop talking?”

“Ahem. Well, it’s hard to say for sure about dramas, but it definitely won’t fail. Han Tae-young is the lead, but more importantly, the writer and director are incredibly strong.”

“It’s by Sung Si-hyuk, who wrote *Our Scandal* and *Blue Rose*, and directed by Go Woo-seung, who did *Law of the Mound*. With that combination, it would be harder for it to fail than to succeed!”

“It fails.”

Yeon-ho, who had been intently staring at the poster, parted his lips. Deep in thought, recalling memories related to *Cold Reading*, he chewed on the rim of his paper cup until it was frayed.

“Young man, what did you just say? What’s going to fail?”

“*Cold Reading*. It fails.”

Yeon-ho replied, his expression still distant and preoccupied.

As both the part-timer and Owner Yang had mentioned, *Cold Reading* had generated significant buzz since its very inception.

It was a collaboration between a star writer-director duo, known as an undefeated icon in the industry for their ratings. It also starred Han Tae-young, who, despite controversy over a shared award, had still clinched the Grand Acting Prize.

His co-star was Shim Ye-ji, celebrated as the nation’s first love.

Given the visual chemistry between the two leads alone, the first episode was guaranteed to hit double-digit ratings. Furthermore, rumors circulated that STBC had poured an immense amount of capital into the production.

People were not debating *if* *Cold Reading* would succeed, but rather *how big* of a hit it would be. The word “failure” simply did not exist in the minds of those involved.

Even viewers picked up their remote controls, thinking, ‘Even if it flops, it’ll still pull in an average of 15 percent ratings.’

However, despite premiering under such dazzling spotlights, *Cold Reading* ultimately sank, branded as the worst flop of the year. Its average viewership settled at a dismal 8.2 percent.

While these figures alone might not suggest an utter catastrophe, considering the star power of its cast and creators, the outcome was devastating. It was even more humiliating given that the premiere had achieved double-digit ratings.

Adding to the low ratings, online communities were in an uproar after every episode, filled with criticism for the writer-director duo and the characters. The plot progression alienated viewers, and the emotional arcs were incomprehensible.

The actors’ performances were inconsistent, seemingly unable to grasp their characters, further fueling the controversy. Anonymous online forums were frequently flooded with posts detailing the chaotic atmosphere on set and bitter complaints.

There were reports of discord between the writer and director, between the lead actors, and even between the actors and the writer.

The set of *Cold Reading* was nothing short of pandemonium, a battleground where everyone seemed to be at war with everyone else.

People were perplexed. How could a project that started so promisingly have collapsed so spectacularly?

The first episode had shattered the prejudice that “a well-advertised feast has little to offer.” From the premiere, whispers began that this was something special, and by around the fourth episode, both viewers and critics alike were showering it with praise, declaring it a masterpiece.

Terms like “drama of a lifetime” were tossed around, with predictions that the Go-Sung collaboration would be remembered as the greatest writer-director duo in K-drama history. There were even calls for STBC to engrave *Cold Reading*’s name on the Best Picture award already.

Online and offline, everyone was buzzing with fervent enthusiasm.

The seemingly unstoppable upward trajectory began to falter only after the fifth episode aired. Voices first emerged expressing an inability to understand the character played by Han Tae-young.

Then, on the day the sixth episode aired, news broke that the actor playing a character crucial to the story, though not a lead, had been caught driving under the influence.

This was the signal of *Cold Reading*’s impending downfall.

****

Thump!

A loud thud from a table echoed through the café.

Yeon-ho, the part-timer, and Owner Yang flinched, turning to face the source of the impact. They initially thought something had fallen from the ceiling, but instead, they saw the young condescending man standing there, panting, with his palm pressed against a table.

‘No way, that sound just now—did he really slam the table?’

The three gathered at the counter stared at the man with startled eyes, as if he were a gangster who had entered their establishment to cause trouble. Having picked up and put his sunglasses back on, the man now appeared even more suspicious and menacing.

‘He pulled his hat down further, too. Why is he so compulsively covering his face?’ Yeon-ho wondered. ‘Could he be a wanted criminal?’

It seemed the young condescending man belatedly realized his violent outburst. He quickly removed his hand from the table and offered an excuse.

“A mosquito was flying around.”

“Really? How frightening that mosquitoes are already appearing; climate change is truly worrying. Jung-eun, go into the kitchen and make the drinks.”

Owner Yang clearly didn’t believe the man’s excuse. Sensing this, the man took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair. Even with just his hat removed, Yeon-ho couldn’t help but think, ‘That guy is incredibly handsome.’

‘He might be well-built and good-looking,’ Yeon-ho mused, ‘but his personality is utterly rotten.’

“Owner Yang, I’ll put the posters up here.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

*Rip, stick.*

As Yeon-ho squatted in front of the counter, affixing the posters, he could still feel the man’s gaze fixed on him.

‘Seriously, this is relentless. Did he have a feud with a tattoo artist?’

Yeon-ho, dumbfounded, glared back at the man. Even with his face obscured by sunglasses and a mask, Yeon-ho could tell the man’s eyes were burning with fury. With the hat off, the dynamic movement of his eyebrows was clearly visible.

‘Why is he angry?’

Yeon-ho found the man’s reaction somewhat odd. The emotion the man had displayed when he first noticed the tattoo earlier was contempt, not anger.

So, why had contempt suddenly transformed into fury?

‘Is he reacting like this because I said *Cold Reading* would fail? He seems to be around my age, so I doubt he’s an investor in the drama…’

Yeon-ho concluded that the man must be a fan of Shim Ye-ji. It made sense to be upset if he heard that a drama starring his favorite actress was going to flop.