Free Web NovelThe SBC director stared at the monitor for a moment, then quietly picked up his phone. On the screen was the current Intube trending video.
He could already see the follow-up articles lining up again, one after another.
“Yeah, Director Na.”
Cold and smart—befitting the drama director of SBC, a place where only elites gathered.
“Let’s put Junseo’s shirtless scene in properly. With soul.”
After hanging up with Director Na of <Top Class>, the center chief took a sharp breath. Then he let out a lion’s roar.
“Release the making-of and the behind-the-scenes—!!!”
What <Strange Tales> had fired was a flaming arrow. The embers had to be put out.
Intube
[Weirdly perfect lip-syncing clueless regret girl, whoa; what is this? Try guessing~ After-School Quiz Show Han Yeoreum–Kwon Junhyeok] 03:27
Views 480K
* * *
What would really land with the public? First, think lightly. Right. The point was “light.”
The mastermind of JC ENM’s innovation—Jegal Rok, who understood everything from consumer needs to the A to Z of baiting attention—adjusted his glasses as he watched the reaction to Episode 1.
As expected. The spotlight began swinging toward <Strange Tales> the moment Episode 1 aired.
“Run more variety clips. Tie them together with the possession fraud-record meme.”
Live dramas are watched only by those who keep up in real time. Which meant that once people heard a drama was “fun,” a significant number would come later.
Jegal Rok tossed the bait of Han Yeoreum’s variety appearance to the public.
Not only to draw in viewers who knew the full rise-and-fall of Episode 1 and came for Episode 2, but also to pull in those who encountered her casually through variety content.
-@Yoo Jiyeon hey look at this lolololol the one you couldn’t guess even once
︎˪At that level she could just read tarot in Konkuk and buy a building;
-Isn’t this that person from ParCheHi lolololol I thought she’d have Pi Chaewon’s personality but she’s unexpected—closer to Hina?
-(to Kwon Junhyeok, who gets everything right yet somehow guesses nothing) Senior... freewebnovel.cσ๓
︎˪(knows nothing but looks insanely reliable anyway) Just go with that.
︎˪Why are you suddenly beating Kwon Junhyeok, our kid’s crying T_T
-Wish she’d be a regular.. my insides feel cleansed TT_TT lololol she’s seriously possessed
Just then, what Yeoreum had shown on <After-School Quiz Show> meshed perfectly with Seoryeong from <Strange Tales>. Comments calling Yeoreum a “clueless regret girl” popped up now and then.
‘Reignite the previous buzz.’
The clip from the last <After-School Quiz Show> settled neatly into real-time trending videos.
Now, curious about the “possessed” Yeoreum, people would either watch Episode 2 of <Strange Tales> airing today, or search <Strange Tales> on Intube.
For a work to succeed, you had to lay traps this dense—like a spider’s web. As the public fell into it one by one, Jegal Rok’s phone vibrated on the desk, brimming with excitement.
Bzz— bzz—.
Checking the name on the screen, Jegal Rok deliberately picked up the call with slow fingers.
“Yes. This is Jegal Rok.”
—That thing we talked about last time! That one!
The voice on the other end belonged to the Director of the Traditional Culture Division at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
—Let’s move on it right away!
Southeast Asia, where <Strange Tales> would be exported; Korea’s hanbok industry and foreign tourists; Namwon in North Jeolla Province, the regional filming location of <Strange Tales>, and its specialty apples. And Creamy Soda and White Makgeolli, which Han Yeoreum was currently endorsing.
“Yes. We’ll pick up the pace.”
Caught in Jegal Rok’s web were not just drama viewers. One by one, they began to get ensnared in the meticulously designed net.
And this was only right after Episode 1 aired.
* * *
Chapter 2.
child-ghost talisman
“Jeongan! Look what I brought!”
Throwing the door open with an impatient hand, Seoryeong strode proudly into the old hut. Her wide smile was innocent.
Rustling as she rummaged through her bundle, Seoryeong held up a pair of flower shoes high in one hand.
“Look at this! Throw away those miserable shoes already and wear these now. Pretty, right? Enough to forget that whole no-possessions nonsense?”
Hee-hee, Seoryeong laughed, her cheeks lifting. Eyes sparkling, she looked for Jeongan. Still, there was no sign of her.
Then— whee-, the faint sound of wind drifted in, bleak and eerie. Seoryeong’s raised lips slowly settled back into place.
“Jeongan? Where are you?”
Calling Jeongan’s name, Seoryeong headed toward the back of the old hut.
The ominous wind continued. A hollow flute-like sound mournfully filled the silence. Her rustling footsteps trembled for a moment.
Unlike the strides she’d taken when running toward Jeongan before, Seoryeong’s steps as she searched were painfully slow.
Behind the hut, Jeongan lay collapsed before an old water bowl.
The bracelet on Jeongan’s wrist—matching the one Seoryeong wore—had snapped, its beads scattered across the ground.
Seoryeong quietly looked down at Jeongan. The flower shoes in her hand were strikingly lovely, completely at odds with the moment.
Too lovely for a bhikkhuni in a monk’s robe stained with dirt and blood.
“Jeongan...?”
Seoryeong called her name softly. Her face looked as if she didn’t know no answer would come.
The ground’s dirty—why are you lying there like this? If she asked innocently, it felt like Jeongan might get up.
Seoryeong’s expression didn’t change.
She just stared at Jeongan with clear eyes, as if time had stopped.
“Jeongan.”
She called her name again. Still, Jeongan did not open her mouth.
Seoryeong’s fragile voice faintly cut through the cold, lonely night air.
“Jeongan.”
Fastidious as she was, Seoryeong crouched beside Jeongan in her silk clothes, even though the place was filthy. She didn’t care about soiling her hem.
Raising a trembling hand, Seoryeong gently shook Jeongan. Jeongan’s stiff body lightly struck the water bowl. The clear water inside spilled out, sorrowfully soaking the ground.
Seoryeong called Jeongan’s name again and again.
The first string of the gayageum quivered and sounded low. The note stretched on, wavering as if swept away by the wind.
“I brought the flower shoes....”
Over the sobbing gayageum, Seoryeong’s voice broke as it carried. From far away came the sound of wind. The chilly breeze seemed to tell Seoryeong—
From now on, you’re alone.
“They’re really nice.”
Slowly, Seoryeong sank down beside Jeongan. Hugging her knees as if cold, her back as she sat silently at Jeongan’s side looked especially small and forlorn.
“They were really expensive.”
At Seoryeong’s murmured words, a daegeum’s plaintive breath spread. The long, sob-like notes filled the silence.
Whee— in the slow, sorrowful performance, Seoryeong’s despair seeped through.
“....”
Seoryeong sat there beside Jeongan without a word. For a very long time. A truly long time.... With her back turned, her face couldn’t be seen.
Jeongan’s last words were heard.
To the child.
Jeongan never knew Seoryeong’s name. Because Seoryeong never told her. When she’d said, What use is giving my name when I’ll die early anyway, what had Jeongan replied?
Right. She’d said that if you live on, a day will come when you want to say your name first.
Without fear, freely, with no hindrance in the heart,
And yet you left without even hearing my name.
Unmoving like a mountain, firm and unshaken,
Drawing out a cough-like laugh from deep in her chest, Seoryeong slowly lifted her head.
As if Jeongan, who said she was going to meet the sky, lingered somewhere beyond.
Do not yield when it is the righteous path.
The sun slowly rose in the east.
The bright path will pierce through to the end and shine.
A voice carrying Jeongan’s warmth, like gentle sunlight, was heard.
All things will flow as they should.
Open your eyes long turned from revenge and live out your natural span.
Jeongan.
As if mocking Seoryeong, left alone ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) in the world, the world shone with a brilliance that was mercilessly bright.
* * *
Reflected in an ornate vanity that looked expensive at a glance was a pale-faced man.
His hands, neatly grooming his appearance, were light—too light. His heart felt ready to take flight. Humming to himself, Seonghwi calmly took a deep breath.
“I’ve finished all preparations.”
Clunk-.
At Seonghwi’s words, the doors swung open to either side. His stride as he stepped out into the wide corridor was imposing.
As if he were the master of this palace.
Arriving before the grand, dignified doors of the royal office, Seonghwi couldn’t contain his excitement. The corners of his lips kept lifting.
“His Highness the Grand Prince enters—.”
At the attendant’s announcement, a weighty permission flowed from inside.
“Let him enter.”
The king, wearing robes embroidered with a roaring tiger in gold thread, did not meet his eyes even at the sound of footsteps. He merely lifted one of the papers stacked on his desk and read.
“Have you been well in the meantime?”
Seonghwi bowed respectfully in greeting to his father seated above. His father gave a small nod.
“Yes. You said you had something to tell me.”
Then, in a flat tone, he asked Seonghwi. Seonghwi carefully opened his mouth. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
“Have you heard of the places I oversaw, including Heavenly Vein Land?”
“Mm.”
“There were places isolated deep in the mountains or cut off by rivers. However, I’ve prepared measures, so after this coming winter, travel will be far easier.”
Seonghwi laid out the results he had achieved after reaching places far from the palace. His voice gradually trembled with excitement.
The king lifted his brush and wrote. Elegant strokes crossed the white paper.
“Therefore, Your Majesty, please return Yunhwi and me to our rightful positions.”
At those words, the king’s hand came to an abrupt halt.
