As a staff member of the third team of the planning department of a medium-sized foreign trade company, 27-year-old Nan Dongjian packed up the things on his desk. After sorting all the documents, he looked at the table below, and then looked out the window at the already dark sky in his heart.
I couldn't help but sigh, it was another day of habitual overtime work.
The pressure and competition among Peninsula Company members in the workplace is really great, especially among the staff at the lower-level positions who are very involved in each other. Staying up late, working overtime, and being reprimanded by their superiors are all the norm.
Nan Dongjian, who was not originally from a prestigious university, has almost completely lost his former vigor and naivety in the past few years of work, and has devoted himself wholeheartedly to the small society of the workplace in his words and deeds.
It was already after get off work hours, and many people had already left. When Nan Dongjian packed up his things and was about to leave, a burst of laughter came from not far away, which attracted his attention.
Looking over there, I saw that a few female employees who had just joined the company were joking with a few male employees there. It was hard to hear what was said from a distance, but Nan Dongjian could probably guess some of it.
These girls, who have just joined the company, have been promoting a TV series called "Misheng" among familiar employees for the past few days. Nam Dongjian once heard them talk about it, and several of them seemed to be interested in it.
I am a fan of the artist Chi Jingyuan who plays the male lead in this TV series. In order to support my idol, I even work so hard to promote him in my workplace. I am really loyal to Aili.
In fact, some employees are quite disgusted with this kind of thing. After all, they have long passed the age of chasing stars and are still so busy at work every day. However, these female employees look young and beautiful after putting on makeup, which is not annoying.
I heard that one of them is a relative of the department head and has some background.
Moreover, they only introduced Amway to their colleagues in the same group, and others could only smile and let it go.
Nam Dong Gun looked there for a few times and shook his head. He left the office and went to the parking lot. He drove his Hyundai back to his apartment after stopping in traffic jams.
Thanks to the section chief who just organized a drinking session the day before yesterday, I need to take a break in the past two days, otherwise today I would have drank one, two or three games until I was unconscious before I could come back to rest.
He bought some miscellaneous noodles to fill his stomach. After washing his clothes, he sat on the sofa and felt a little bored. He turned on the TV and flipped through several channels but didn't see any TV series that he liked. After looking at the table below, Nan Dongjian's mind
Suddenly, I remembered the "Misheng" that Chi Jingyuan's fans in the company have been promoting at Amway these days.
Of course he has heard of the name Chi Jingyuan. After all, it has been really popular in the past two years. EXO and Chi Jingyuan are good common topics to talk to little girls, even if they are not interested in boy bands at all, like Nan
People like Dongjian sometimes go out to find out more.
He is completely indifferent to EXO, but he has watched some of the two TV series produced by Chi Kyung-won because they were so popular. However, from his perspective, he feels that "The Heirs", a drama that is popular all over Asia, is highly praised.
It's very ordinary, plots such as chaebol's Cinderella love are not to his liking at all, and his impression of this most popular idol actor can only be said to be either good or bad.
Jintu drama "Wei Sheng"? Workplace drama?
After thinking for a while, today happened to be the first broadcast on Friday. Anyway, he had nothing to do, so Nam Dong Gun simply changed the channel and watched it with a critical eye.
Thanks to the fact that he is also a tvN subscriber of cable TV.
Jintu Drama starts broadcasting every Friday and Saturday at 10 o'clock in the evening. It was already 9:50 when he sat here. He didn't wait two minutes after changing the channel. After a burst of commercials, it entered the broadcast time.
After a burst of pleasant BGM, an office scene and an overhead shot of Seoul's bustling traffic, the word "Misao" with a rain screen special effect appeared on the screen. "Misao" officially started broadcasting.
The melodious BGM is accompanied by the panning shot of the wilderness rock wall, and at the same time Chi Jingyuan's deep voice narration rings in the ears:
"The road is not walked out, but created in order to go out."
"A road that cannot be taken out is not a road."
With the scene of ruined walls, the right accompaniment and the calm and magnetic narration, an indescribable sense of desolation arose spontaneously at the beginning, but Nan Dongjian felt that this paragraph was very redundant and was deliberately confusing:
"Pretending."
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Keli, played by Chi Jingyuan, appeared in the camera. The screen slowly moved from behind to in front of him, giving him a close-up full-body close-up. He was wearing a straight suit, with a superior figure and special design.
With her forehead-baring make-up, the image of a confident workplace elite emerges vividly on the page. At the beginning, the male protagonist’s first appearance really makes people’s eyes shine.
Even though he couldn't stand it, Nan Dongjian, who was looking at his attitude, couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "This guy is really good-looking. No wonder there are many employees who graduated from universities who are his fans."
However, I soon became a little disdainful of this casting. I felt that it was just the old-fashioned omnipotent handsome guy protagonist from the Peninsula idol drama. Even if it is a workplace drama, it is just an idol drama wearing skin.
In the reality he knows, someone who is so good-looking will definitely be jealous of others in the workplace. If it is a girl, it may be an advantage, but if it is a man, it is really not necessarily the case.
Unless there are connections and background.
Although I complained a lot in my heart, the quality of the footage in this section really impressed Nam Dong-jian. He felt that the pictures and footage had the style and quality of a movie.
These are the scenes that Chi Jingyuan and the others shot in Jordan before. They placed the plots of the last two episodes in the first episode to arouse suspense.
The entire opening scene is to show the grown-up Zhang Keli's spirit and decisiveness and maturity in handling things from all aspects.
Although I watched it with a critical eye, Nan Dongjian quickly got involved in the tight and intense street chase scene at the beginning, watching Zhang Keli and Xu walking on the streets of Jordan’s old city with a very distinctive style.
It's about chasing each other, and the intense BGM really gives people the feeling of an action movie.
"Bang!" There was a loud noise, and Nan Dongjian was startled by the crashing car. Looking at Chi Jingyuan who staggered up after being hit, he was speechless and didn't know how to evaluate it.
He was really shocked by this sudden car crash.
Jordan's foreplay ended with Zhang Clay leaping off the roof of the building and entering the main episode of the first episode. Many viewers in front of the TV did not react for a moment.
After entering the main film, Zhang Keli, who was high-spirited, mature and reliable just now, was suddenly brought back to his original form. The first scene at the beginning showed him working part-time in a bathhouse and diligently cleaning windows.
After washing the glass, he quickly put on his uniform and ran to work as a chauffeur. While panting and running quickly on the street, he used his mobile phone to contact customers.
"Here, give it to you."
Before sending the drunk client to his home, I bent down and picked up the banknotes that the other party had thrown on the ground as if they were giving out alms. I found that it was a banknote with a face value of 50,000 Korean won and the other party gave him too much. I quickly chased after him and wanted to tell him, but the other party
He waved his hand casually and closed the door without looking, leaving Zhang Keli, who was left silent outside the door, looking at the money in his hand quietly, with a silent and complicated expression on his face.
A few simple plots show the family background and work character of the male protagonist Zhang Keli. Because the family is very difficult, he works various part-time jobs, including cleaning, driving, etc.
, very hard every day.
However, although Zhang Keli is a single-parent family, his family is very warm. His mother saw that her son was about to go to 'Quan International', a well-known comprehensive trading company, for an internship for some special reasons, but he did not have a new and close-fitting suit.
While cheering him on, I decided to buy a new suit for my son so that he could wear it more decently.
When he came to 'Quan International' as an intern, Zhang Keli was assigned to the third sales team. When he just joined the company, he sat there doing nothing, just like a visiting guest, with a dazed look on his face. However, he was soon noticed.
Jin Daming, the agent of the third sales team, called him up to the rooftop and started to check his bottom.
"Your name is Zhang..." Jin Daming knocked on the cigarette case on the rooftop and a cigarette popped out. He held it in his hand without lighting it, and without any intention of smoking, he put the cigarette case in and looked at the other person with a smile on his face.
asked without smiling.
"Zhang Keli, my name is Zhang Keli."
"how old are you?"
"26 years old."
"I think you stopped studying after passing the college entrance examination?"
"Yes." The smile that had appeared on Zhang Keli's face just now, played by Chi Jingyuan, suddenly froze, his eyes wandered, and he responded softly.
"Did you drop out of high school? Or just don't want to go to school, or something happened?"
"I didn't go to school..."
"Why?"
"..."
"Do you have any work experience?"
"..."
"Do you speak English or other foreign languages?"
"Won't……"
A few simple but straightforward questions revealed Zhang Keli's self-esteem layer by layer, leaving him not knowing how to answer, so he could only respond with silence.
With just a few words, Jin Daming figured out Zhang Keli's background. He immediately lost interest and casually greeted him before leaving.
Zhang Keli, on the other hand, squatted down, picked up the cigarette that had been thrown away without smoking it, and threw it into the trash can. He stood by the rooftop and looked quietly into the distance, but his heart was deeply filled with emotion because of his speechlessness just now.
self-reflection.
"What have I done in the past 26 years..."
Seeing this scene, Nan Dongjian, who had always had a condescending attitude before, suddenly felt a wave of excitement in his heart.
On the screen, Zhang Keli's shame, self-esteem, sadness and sadness were indescribably complex under Jin Daming's questioning. Although he was across the screen, he could clearly feel it in Chi Jingyuan's eyes.
Just a few glances and expressions, as well as a low-pitched self-torture, made Nan Dongjian instantly understand Zhang Keli's complex emotions at this time.
After being silent for a long time, he lowered his legs that had been crossed for some time, straightened his waist slightly, and continued to read more seriously.
Unknowingly, Nam Dong Gun really started to get involved in this TV series.
Competition among sales groups is fierce. In order to increase performance and busy work, each sales group is short of people. However, the shortages are employees with high education and strong work ability who can make a difference immediately.
An intern like Zhang Keli who has no experience, knows nothing, and has a high school degree is directly regarded as a burden and a connection, and no one takes him seriously.
It’s no wonder that others are like this. Everyone in the workplace needs to show their abilities and values, but Zhang Keli, who just broke in, is like a new-born ignorant child who doesn’t understand anything, whether it’s answering the phone, organizing things, etc.
He didn't know how to document or even copy materials at all. The look of confusion on his face seemed out of place with the busy environment around him.
It's as if he is just a superfluous person.
At the same time, the role of An Yingyi, played by Kang Sora, was transferred. She is also an intern who has just joined the company and is currently working in the second sales team. However, An Yingyi is skilled in business, fluent in foreign languages, and also very courageous and creative.
He handles work in an orderly manner, and he solved a big case not long after joining the company. He is the employee that all section chiefs want, and he is also the most eye-catching one among the interns.
Zhang Keli and An Yingyi formed a very sharp contrast, which more and more highlighted the loss and frustration of the male protagonist.
Because of a coincidence, An Yingyi helped Zhang Keli answer a call from a client, which gave Zhang Keli an idea. Whenever he encountered any problem, he would lick his face and ask An Yingyi for help. Even if he was looked down upon, he would put down his pride and sincerely plead, and at the same time follow
Be around and learn her every move and how to deal with it.
No matter how unwilling or impatient the other party appears.
Zhang Keli’s inner narration seems to indicate his thoughts and psychological changes at this time:
"I have no time to care about face, dignity or self-esteem. Those are insignificant to me now."
At this time, news spread that he had a high school diploma and no experience. Many interns who had graduated from prestigious universities at the same time were dissatisfied. They felt that after working hard for so many years, they were working with a high school student, which seemed extremely inferior.
Under the active leadership of some people, Zhang Klai would be subjected to strange verbal attacks and blatant exclusion from the workplace, whether while eating or riding in the elevator.
Even though he knew these things well, Zhang Keli, who had not yet demonstrated his own value, could only cheer up and face it with a reluctant smile.
Only Zhang Baiji, who was also an intern, had no prejudice against him and even took the initiative to defend him.
The first day of internship ended in this way. The male protagonist returned home in the evening and showed the audience his past experiences and family changes through memories.
He has been a child who has loved Go since he was a child, is quite talented, and is very serious and hard-working. However, due to family changes, his father had an accident and needed money, so he has been working various part-time jobs for a long time. After graduating from high school,
Didn't even go to university.
At the same time, due to hesitation and distraction due to part-time work, he was never able to pass the entrance examination of Go. When his deadline to become a graduate student at the Peninsula Chess Academy came, he gave up the game of Go that he had always loved and worked hard for.
The next day, section chief Wu Shangzhi was late because of a traffic jam. At Jin Daming's request, Zhang Kelei used Go to retain the foreign customers he was scheduled to meet, which was considered his first small achievement after joining the company.
It’s just that such small things can’t change other people’s views on him. Wu Shangzhi, the section chief of the third sales team who just returned from an overseas business trip, said bluntly to Zhang Keli in the car: “Our team doesn’t need promising rookies...
After I go back, I may return you... What is your selling point? Try to impress me with it."
"I work very hard." After thinking a little nervously, Zhang Keli said what he thought was his greatest advantage and his only strength.
But when Wu Shangzhi heard it, he felt a little ridiculous and shook his head: "There is no one here who doesn't work hard."
After arriving at the company, Wu Shangzhi didn't have time to say anything. He had just given Zhang Keli the task of organizing and summarizing files on the computer, and then he received a call from Jin Daming, saying that there was a problem with the supply of a batch of squid. Originally, there was a problem with the supply of a batch of squid.
The goods should be pure squid, but now it is discovered that the supplier may have mixed it with frozen squid to make up for the price.
This is not a small problem. Once this batch of squid is made into food, if squid is mixed in, the purity will be greatly affected.
Because there was an automated factory and there was a shortage of manpower, Wu Shangzhi decided to take people directly to the manual inspection after consideration, and went to the place where the goods were stored to personally check whether there was adulterated squid in it.
And just when Wu Shangzhi answered the phone, Zhang Keli's mother brought the brand new black suit she had just bought with gritted teeth to the company. She handed the suit to her son in the lobby. When the other party saw the suit was being
When he was confused, he pointed to his eyes and explained: "You will know when you become a parent. If you see your child wearing immodest clothes, his eyelids will feel as if they are stuck and he will not be able to do anything all day long.
"
After leaving a touching quote, my mother waved handsomely and left the company, leaving Zhang Keli looking at his back and speechless for a moment.
Changing into a new suit in the bathroom, Zhang Keli had just returned to the third sales team when he was captured by Wu Shangzhi. He took all the new interns to the company and rushed to the factory to inspect the squid.
Because there were not enough work clothes, Zhang Keli, who was not assigned, could only wear a new suit to go into battle. At the same time, the working environment was still very cold and he could not take off his clothes.
Moreover, there were a total of 9 interns in the five refrigerated trucks. They were grouped in pairs. When they were grouped, no one wanted to be with him due to obvious exclusion. In the end, only Zhang Keli was left, and he could only complete two tasks alone.
Personal workload: One person can inspect a truck of squid weighing 3.5 tons.
When people are unlucky, nothing goes smoothly. When Zhang Keli was checking the squid in the freezer truck, he splashed a lot of water, and his cell phone also fell into the big bucket of squid.
When he finally found the squid mixed with it, he discovered that Wu Sangzhi had called before and told him that he didn't need to look for the squid anymore and could leave. And the people who came with him had already left in a special car to go back to the company.
.
Among them, the two interns who were sent to call him were the ones who hated him the most and they withdrew without notifying him on purpose.
In the end, it was the factory employees who discovered that he was still working inside and shouted twice in great surprise that he only found out about this.
The confusion and confusion on his face when he knew he had been abandoned, and the loss and anger that had accumulated in his heart for a long time were vividly displayed on Chi Jingyuan's expression.
When I saw Chi Jingyuan's frozen face close-up on TV, with his hair a little messy due to work, and his suit and face splashed with a lot of dirty water, after seeing this scene, I don't know how many viewers, including early
Nan Dongjian, who had already sunk in, trembled in his heart, and for some reason a feeling of empathy came to his heart.
Because the factory was far away from the city and it was difficult to take a taxi, Zhang Keli finally got a ride back to the city alone and went to the place where the interns were celebrating their meal.
Those who came back early had already finished eating and were chatting at the door. They were ready to go home and rest.
While they were chatting and joking lively, section chief Wu Shangzhi happened to arrive at the door, and together they saw Zhang Kelei walking from the side, looking embarrassed and smelling of squid.
Ignoring the ridicule and weirdness of these people, and not obeying Wu Shangzhi's suggestion to go back and rest first, Zhang Keli turned around alone after bowing to the section chief, preparing to go back to the company to work overtime and complete the tasks that Wu Shangzhi gave him in the afternoon.
The task of organizing files on a computer.
As he gradually moved away from the crowd and gradually approached the camera, his inner monologue also sounded:
"You say I'm too serious?"
"No, it's just because I'm not serious enough, so I have to go out into the society to practice."
"I was abandoned because I wasn't serious enough."
Finally, Zhang Keli's firm expression with pursed lips froze, the OST sounded, and the first episode of "Wei Sheng" officially ended.
Looking at this last picture in confusion, Nan Dongjian fell into silence for a moment.
Obviously I looked at it with a critical eye. I obviously had no feelings for the idol actor named Chi Jingyuan and even disliked it. I was obviously a little disappointed at the beginning and found all kinds of faults with the male protagonist and this drama.
But why did he unknowingly sit on the sofa for an hour and a half without moving or even going to the toilet?
Why did he have empathy with a character played by Zhang Keli, a rookie in the workplace and an actor with such a superior appearance?
Why is it that the pace of this first episode is so slow and there is no emotional drama? Not only is the protagonist not a son of a plutocrat or a professional elite, but he has been frustrated and abused. However, the more he watches, the more he becomes more and more immersed in it.
Why was it that when he saw the close-up of Zhang Klai at the end, a string in his heart was suddenly touched, and he suddenly inexplicably thought of himself?
After thinking about it, Nam Dong-gun found that apart from complaining about the male protagonist's eye-catching appearance at the beginning, he never felt this way again after officially entering the plot.
He even couldn't help but secretly applaud Chi Jingyuan several times because of Chi Jingyuan's shocking and memorable facial expressions.
"This drama..."
Nam Dong-gun was stunned for a few minutes as he watched the advertisement on the TV after the end of the first episode. He picked up his phone and clicked on the search website naver. After a while, he entered two words.
Not born.
…………
The first episode of "Misei" is a 90-minute special broadcast, which is much longer than the 60-minute duration of ordinary Peninsula TV series.
However, after watching it, many viewers still feel that they are not satisfied with the movie.
After the first episode was aired, there was a heated discussion on the Internet that night. After a night of fermentation, it had already caused quite an impact the next day.
"It's really great. I watched the promotion yesterday and wanted to watch it casually because I was bored. I finished it without realizing it. It was very well shot."
"After watching it, I don’t want to comment on anything else. I just want to say that Chi Jingyuan is indeed one of the best acting actors in the 20s. I watched the whole thing yesterday. He was too superior when playing the role of Zhang Keli, a novice in the workplace who has always been frustrated.
His appearance does not seem to overwhelm the guest, and it makes people feel very natural, as if he is that little clerk. The close-up shots of his expressions in the end are really shocking, especially when Leng Dongche knows that he has been abandoned.
I was really blown away by that scene and the close-up at the end. PD Kim Won-seok was right when he said that he is the best actor of the younger generation.
"Indeed, I just rewatched "The Heirs" not long ago, and today I watched "Misborn" and I didn't feel that it was a drama at all. From Jin Tan to Zhang Keli, I don't know how big the gap between the two characters is. The acting skills
It’s really good, the crew is really good at casting.”
"After reading it, I felt that it was really real, including the handling of various work matters in the third sales group, the interactions between interns, and various competitions and exclusions. There are many similarities with what I have experienced personally, and there is nothing close to it.
My ambiguity, this is the kind of workplace drama I want to see."
Chi Jingyuan picked up a bun with chopsticks and stuffed it into his mouth, while looking at the enthusiastic reviews of "Misheng" on the Internet. He had just woken up and his mood suddenly became much better.
"What are you looking at that makes you so happy?"