Free Web NovelThe director, Yun Hyeonjo, and Kwak Cheolsik took turns greeting the audience with microphones in hand. Only when it became Yeoreum’s turn did IP 85.152 lift their head again.
“Yes. It’s hot today, so thank you so much to everyone who came out to watch the cool action film <Law-Faster-than>.”
The moment Yeoreum’s voice rang out, a sense of calm settled in. Her precise projection echoed gently through the theater, and IP 85.152 stared at Yeoreum as if bewitched.
Their eyes met. Yeoreum gave a small wave.
‘To me? Was that to me?’
No, no way. IP 85.152 composed their expression.
Any civilized person knew better than to believe that, among this many salted shrimp, they alone were the precious Dokdo shrimp.
‘But still... I’m pretty sure she looked right at me. That wasn’t just my imagination.’
While IP 85.152 was locked in an internal battle, photo time using the intermission began. Shouts calling Yun Hyeonjo burst out from all over. Being a refined individual, IP 85.152 kept their mouth firmly shut.
“Unni, you’re so pretty....”
“Really? Thank you.”
“I’m really enjoying <Strange Tales>!”
“Wow—please make sure you watch all the way to the final episode.”
Yeoreum took selfies, held hands, and slowly made her way up the steps. Just as she came to a stop in front of IP 85.152—
“We’ll be exiting now!”
A sound that absolutely should not have been heard came from far away. IP 85.152 lifted their head, and their eyes met Yeoreum’s again.
In that instant, without even realizing it, IP 85.152’s mouth fell open slightly. Seeing Han Yeoreum up close was... just too....
“Selfie? Want to take a selfie?”
Yeoreum naturally took the phone IP 85.152 was holding. The two of them appeared on the screen together. IP 85.152 instinctively raised a hand and made a polite V sign.
“Enjoy the movie!”
As Yeoreum brushed past, the scent that lingered at the tips of her hair was just....
“Ah, that was really funny.”
“It was better than I expected. This is getting a sequel, right?”
“Is there a post-credit scene?”
Murmurs rose around them. Only then did IP 85.152 snap back to reality.
‘Huh.’
The screen went dark as the audience bustled down the stairs. The movie was over. The end credits were rolling.
“...Huh...?”
Like a mirage, the real Han Yeoreum flickered hazily in their mind. They vaguely remembered a scene where she brushed her hair back on screen. And something else... cute... maybe....
“What was the plot again?”
Before they knew it, IP 85.152 was left alone in the theater.
[LOLOLOLOL so how was Law-Faster-than? not your type lol]
[Wait why would you even go see that.. just to trash it?]
[Stress relief T_T]
Messages from friends piled up on IP 85.152’s phone as they exited the theater. IP 85.152 opened the gallery. The photo taken with Yeoreum was saved there. It hadn’t been a dream.
With slow fingers, IP 85.152 typed a reply.
Input: I’m watching it one more time
[?? Seriously??]
[Guess it was good lol]
IP 85.152 trudged over to the unmanned ticketing machine. Then they booked one more ticket. It was only later that they learned each theater offered different exclusive perks.
Being a cultured individual, IP 85.152 decided—purely out of necessity—to watch <Law-Faster-than> four times, in order to compare the quality of goods produced by domestic theaters.
* * [N O V E L I G H T] *
“Seniors, did you see it? Did you see it? That person came to the same seat three times.”
“Yes. We saw.”
“That foal’s all excited!”
Inside the elevator heading to L Cinema on the top floor, my heart was pounding uncontrollably. The fan who had handed me the headband at GCV Wangsimni was someone whose face I already recognized.
‘They really are my fan!’
It was the same person whose eyes had met mine at the last MusicN Awards.
Even as my follower count kept rising online, the popularity hadn’t felt real. But meeting a fan this close today made it feel truly....
‘So this is... what it tastes like to be a popular actor...?’
Of course, it was only one person. But the fact that I had a fan made me ridiculously happy. They had even followed me to three different theaters.
‘Honestly, I kind of want to have a one-on-one meal.’
And ask them—why they like me, since when, what they like the most, why they’ll keep liking me from now on.... I want to talk seriously....
‘I want to make an album of all my childhood photos and give it to them.’
Unni, do you need my photos? I want to ask....
‘Ah, and Han Taeyang was here too.’
I could tell it was him at a glance, so I don’t get why he was hiding his face so desperately. And then when I messaged him, he didn’t reply at all.
[lolol why do you keep coming?]
The message was read and ignored—the “1” was gone. Seriously, what bad manners.
“Alright, foal! Let’s go!”
At some point, the elevator stopped at the top floor and the doors slid open. The guards on either side reported something over their radios.
“We’ll begin entry starting with Theater 3.”
Inside the massive cinema, screens covered three sides. On them, the trailer for <Law-Faster-than> played. The natural sound of camera shutters, the buzz of people recognizing Yun Hyeonjo and Kwak Cheolsik, and then....
“Isn’t that Pi Chaewon?”
Yes, that’s me! Even amid the noise, I clearly heard my name and turned my head. I waved to my future fans.
‘Come see me later, everyone!’
Ding—. freeweɓnøvel.com
「Mission: Celebrity Seen Up Close」
Keyword: Witness Account
You appeared before 1,000 people within 24 hours! Congratulations. Witness accounts are starting to go up one by one. Offline and online are tightly interwoven, so let’s imprint yourself just like this!
Success Condition
[You have planted the perception of being “even better in person” in the minds of 1,000+ members of the public.]
Reward
[Awareness] Increase
[Title] Acquired
Dok Gomin’s Muse / So Yesol’s Muse / Acting-Rookie / Even-Better-in-Person <<<NEW!!!
[Lucky Points 1,000p] Acquired
* * *
Aetami’s body was in shambles, but her heart was overflowing.
‘Yeoreum....’
Scrolling through the unmanned stage greeting reviews for <Law-Faster-than>, she saved every photo Yeoreum appeared in, one by one, until her gallery was filled with Yeoreum.
[Law-Faster-than Gallery]
Yup (14.40) She’s way better at fan service during stage greetings than expected lololol putting on every headband one by one is so cute
Yup (118.235) Fixing the headband nicely for Yun Detective who can’t do it himself—seriously overwhelming gratitude, he could’ve become that awkward uncle otherwise
ㄴYup (39.119) For real, she made sure his hair didn’t get messed up, so he still looked neatly styled at other greetings T_T
The movie itself wasn’t bad either. It was packed with clichés, but the rhythm and twists in between were definitely fun.
‘At this rate, it’ll clear the break-even point easily!’
It was a JC ENM push, and a perfect vacation-season watch. Thinking it would sweep up audiences once the weekend hit, a smile crept onto Aetami’s lips.
‘Yeoreum... seeing her up close was really something....’
On the way home, Aetami instinctively stopped by Olive0 again. Yeoreum’s poster was hanging outside.
After purchasing ALAB’s new product, Aetami went home and tried it right away—and realized the source of Yeoreum’s scent.
“So this is what Yeoreum actually uses!”
Aetami vowed to use only ALAB from now on. Drying her noticeably glossier hair, holding a dryer in one hand and her phone in the other, Aetami searched <Law-Faster-than>.
“...Wow....”
And discovered new bait.
Intube
[First Train Live! Nobody goes home until the first train~ Join the <Law-Faster-than> team dinner] 45:21
Views 23K
A team dinner video for <Law-Faster-than> had dropped.
* * *
Jegal Rok checked the uploaded video. The first-train live stream, casually unfolding alongside behind-the-scenes stories from the set, was drawing quite a good response. It felt like genuinely hanging out together in private, and subscribers naturally melted into it.
-LOLOLOLOL why are there so many group photos though
-fuck Han Yeoreum is so cute.. TT_TT endlessly tidying the table, such a good baby puppy patpatpat
-I went to a stage greeting today and Kwak Cheolsik was way more handsome than expected! He looks much gentler in person
-? How can Kwak Cheolsik be gentle, is he an iced americano served hot?
It was a new format not previously seen on Intube—showing actors slightly loosened up while drinking.
JC ENM’s innovation paid off again. Not long after upload, the comments had already surpassed 100.
-Why are middle-aged guys holding creamy soda so cute.. lolol
-But that stuff is actually really good, no bitterness, easy to drink even if you’re bad with alcohol
There were plenty of reactions even about the creamy soda on the table—cute because it didn’t match the actors, tasted good, hard to find near home, common near college districts, and so on. Jegal Rok skimmed through the comments and nodded slightly.
‘Success.’
Just the fact that consumers had recognized the name of a newly launched product meant it was already halfway there.
All that remained now was word of mouth.
With the hottest rising star, Han Yeoreum, as the model, SNS virality would exceed expectations. Jegal Rok clicked on a file uploaded to the cloud.
[Collection of Han Yeoreum Modeling Proposals]
