Free Web NovelThe fans had completely lost their minds.
Almost every single day, TVM uploaded clip videos—and on top of that, they even released behind-the-scenes footage cut together in cute edits—so much so that people were living their entire twenty-four hours thinking about <Strange Tales>.
Intube
[Seoryeong–Myungdo that soup scene, look at these two baby puppies eating so well, so precious] 03:22
[Seonghwi reading comments, looks like his eyes are getting watery... like he’s about to cry] 02:47
[Shh—Strange Tales making-of, unreleased footage «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» first drop, dropping now, cuddly-cute NG compilation] 20:47
Whenever <Strange Tales> uploaded clips, they hit one million views without fail. Among fans, it was known as an “all-hundred”—everything cleared six digits.
Go to the gallery and you’d find high-resolution captures, GIFs, and analysis posts. Scroll through SNS and there were highlight clips. Enter the official channel and there were behind-the-scenes videos.
‘Is this what drama fandom is usually like?’
The office worker liked watching dramas, but had never gone so far as to visit a gallery before. Now they thought drama fandom was just as fun as idol fandom.
‘And the still cuts are really good....’
The still cuts—on par with official pictorials—also played a big role. With high-resolution official photos pouring out, wallpaper distributions naturally increased.
‘It’d be nice if I could actually see a filming site someday.’
Of course, that would never happen. Still, the office worker faithfully watched <Strange Tales> live, admiring the especially beautiful hanbok.
And then, on the Monday after the weekend, that wish came true far sooner than expected.
“We need to go on a business trip—head to Namwon, where we went last time....”
Everyone else, unwilling to go on a trip, was staring vacantly at the copier, the potted plants, or nearby partitions with dead fish eyes.
“You know that famous drama these days? It was filmed there....”
Hanbok and a famous drama? Without thinking, the office worker raised their hand.
“<Strange Tales>?”
“Yeah, that’s it! That drama.”
“I’ll go!”
There was no time to ask about or argue over the schedule. To see <Strange Tales> right in front of their eyes. The office worker’s eyes burned like they’d gone mad.
* * *
Dok Gomin was on set again today, a heavy camera hanging around her neck.
“Um, student? I say this every time, but could you take a few more shots of Junhyeok too....”
“Is he standing next to Han Yeoreum?”
“....”
“He isn’t.”
Somehow, Dok Gomin had become part of the <Strange Tales> filming staff. If you tried to trace it back, the details were a bit fuzzy.
Because the top director wasn’t really her type, she’d erased him from her memory.
What was certain, though, was that after chatting a bit, they’d ended up having an in-depth discussion about East Asian aesthetics; the director had trapped Dok Gomin in his studio feeding her bagels; they’d lost track of time talking about shooting concepts, and then—
“Ah, when is Han Yeoreum coming....”
She’d been abducted.
Under the title of “art department staff,” Dok Gomin was now burdened with the duty of shooting still cuts. Apparently a woman called Manager Ma had heard about Dok Gomin even before <Strange Tales> began filming and insisted they had to lock her in for the Blu-ray....
Thus, hundreds of still cuts piled up, rivaling full pictorials. But Dok Gomin had one fatal flaw.
“She’s nice. Yeoreum will come after finishing her stage greeting, student. So... maybe we could pay a little more attention to Junhyeok too? It’d be good to get plenty of solo shots of him.”
“Sigh.... The life of a genius is exhausting.”
Her likes and dislikes were far too clearly defined.
Ever since the ritual scene filmed a while back, Dok Gomin’s Only-Han-Yeoreum syndrome had grown even worse.
“I’m sorry....”
Kwon Junhyeok, who had lived his life surrounded by countless telephoto lenses, took a massive shock at being treated for the first time as “Please crop Kwon Junhyeok,” and shrank even more whenever he went near Dok Gomin.
“There’s nothing to apologize for. Mm-hmm. By the way, do you have any bread? I should eat bread before taking photos.”
“No. I’m sorry, we don’t have any bread right now. I’ll go buy some right away....”
“Okay. Heat it up nice and warm.”
Dok Gomin had developed a new skill. Anyone who came within three meters of her automatically became a bread shuttle.
At first, there were looks that asked who she even was, but after seeing Dok Gomin’s work, everyone started carrying bread on their own.
As Dok Gomin watched Kwon Junhyeok trudging off to get bread, she made eye contact with people looking at her awkwardly. The top director brightened and welcomed them.
“Oh! You’re here! Thank you so much for coming all this way.”
“No, it’s us who wanted to see the filming site in person....”
They were obviously boring people.
As Dok Gomin tried to slip away from them, she saw something and froze in place.
“This is the person in charge of our <Strange Tales> still cuts, and she’s actually an even more incredible artist. I begged and begged to get her on set—huh?”
The director, mid-introduction, stopped speaking. Dok Gomin, without asking or hesitating, strode over to a woman and grabbed the hand holding her phone.
“My photo!”
It was a wallpaper—made from a photo Dok Gomin had taken.
“Hello. I’m an assistant manager from ‘Taerandang,’ a custom hanbok brand working with the Seoul Hanbok Promotion Center—”
“Mm-hmm. Want to go talk over there? I didn’t think I’d meet someone who gets it this well again. Come on, let’s go.”
The unfortunate hanbok company employee was selected as Dok Gomin’s pick and dragged away.
Kwon Junhyeok, returning with warmed bread, looked around.
“Hyung.... I think I’m really not it....”
“No, Junhyeok. Don’t cry! Your makeup will smudge!”
“I saw that Myeong Jeha has personal cuts, so I checked.... What if I don’t get solo shots on the Blu-ray. I mean, I’m getting carried in acting anyway, so I guess I have no choice but to get carried in photos too.... Hic.... When I close my eyes to sleep, that ritual scene still pops up, and I keep thinking, what am I even good for....”
Cradling the warm bread, Kwon Junhyeok cried.
And a few hours later, he ended up receiving the best photo of his life from none other than Dok Gomin.
* * *
Since I’d come out of town for a location shoot, I went around doing stage greetings. Guided by the guards, I entered the theater, and the audience welcomed me as if they’d been waiting for this very moment.
You’d think I’d be used to it by now, but I wasn’t.
“You’re so pretty—!”
“I’m here for my third viewing.”
“Are you in the sequel too?”
The questions thrown at me kept increasing. The camera lenses pointed at me, my name circulating online.
It felt like I’d climbed onto some kind of current, riding a powerful flow.
‘Ten million is right around the corner....’
The film had already surpassed nine million. Predictions that it would hit ten million after the weekend were taken for granted.
[<Law-Faster-than> terrifying box office speed... fastest ten million ever?]
The astonishing pace of <Law-Faster-than>, released on July 24, continues to make headlines. A buddy film pairing an elite detective with a physical, fist-first detective, <Law-Faster-than> delivers a familiar taste through light humor and moderately twisted clichés... (omitted) Having set a record-fast climb to nine million, attention is focused on whether it can add yet another “fastest” title on its way to ten million.
Articles poured out daily, alongside Intube plot summary videos and endless #Law-Faster-than tags. Public attention was on another level.
And above all, what fueled the film’s success was the “proof shots.”
[I collected all the goods tickets but why is the quality this insane]
There were gallery users who collected them all on release day, but I wasn’t that hardcore lolol I went every weekend and finally got them all—these gorgeous tickets... the business card I got in week one looks so real that it makes me weirdly happy every time I see it he
Yup (17.132) Hurry up and release part 2 so I can collect tickets again
Yup (280.117) The flavor of official merch rolled out like this is fucking sweet
Yup (110.31) The photo printed on the goods isn’t released separately, right? TT_TT My L Cinema is fucking far, damn...
ㄴ(33.119) Nope, they’re not releasing it. If you want it, you just have to go even if it’s far
The goods were produced cost-effectively, but the response was explosive—because they used unreleased photos. And proof shots didn’t stop at merchandise. Everyday photos uploaded by general viewers on SNS were also part of the proof-shot culture.
“Huh? Hey, this is cute.”
“Take mine first!”
Inside the theater was a <Law-Faster-than> pop-up: a black background, the Law-Faster-than typography, and a smile balloon standing beside it.
This simple photo zone was hugely popular. Viewers took photos and uploaded them to SNS, and everything meshed together to drive the box office.
Everything was going according to plan.
‘Every time I come for a stage greeting, the auditorium is packed.’
A massive theater with not a single empty seat. Thinking that I was standing right in the middle of it made my head spin. Once, on an empty stage late at night, I’d imagined moments like this.
‘That someday, on a stage where no one was sitting, there would be a full audience, and every single one of them would be looking at me....’
It still didn’t feel real. I didn’t feel tired even without sleeping, and I didn’t feel worn out even without resting. Was this what it tasted like to be the protagonist?
“That person is that person?”
As I was leaving the theater under the guards’ guidance after finishing the stage greeting, a viewer coming out of <Law-Faster-than> spoke loudly.
“She’s the same person as Seoryeong?”
I guess it didn’t seem like the same person as Influencer 1 from <Law-Faster-than>. I turned toward the voice and waved. A small scream followed.
‘Ah... the taste of rising.... So sweet.... Everyone, when you watch the movie, please focus on my face....’
First viewing for the story, second viewing for Han Yeoreum’s face. Everyone should watch it at least twice.
“Foal! Good luck with filming then.”
“Take care of yourself and work efficiently. Nothing’s harder than getting sick mid-shoot....”
After greeting Kwak Cheolsik and Yoon Hyeonjo, I finished the stage greeting and returned to the <Strange Tales> filming site.
Today was the lantern-release scene. We had to shoot a scene where the two of us rode a small ferry together by the water.
“Unnie—.”
As soon as I arrived on set, I called Dok Gomin. I couldn’t do without her. Dok Gomin only liked me—
“Unnie?”
But there was a woman standing next to Dok Gomin?
Seeing her having fun even without me made me feel strangely off. The two of them were deep in serious conversation.
“Because of the nature of hanbok as clothing, when it gets wet—what is it? That ascetic flavor when the layered fabric clings tightly to the body.... And the line you see when tied-up hair gets wet and a few strands trail down the nape.”
“Mm-hmm. You know your stuff. Not quite at my level, but a similar kind of genius.”
“And I really, really insist on this—but in this scene, they absolutely have to be close together. It doesn’t work if she’s alone. The two hands, barely about to touch through the wide sleeves of the hanbok....”
What? Their side had a totally different atmosphere. In the busy set where equipment was being set up, only those two were in their own world.
“And then, right there, we go wide. The man’s back filling the ferry, completely blocking—start focusing from behind, and over his shoulder you see Seoryeong’s face choking up. Cold moonlight pouring down from the left.... Under that light, wearing a soaked hanbok, arm stretched out just so. Here it is. Kyaaa!”
Even the top director joined in. The three of them huddled together in one corner of the set, an intense discussion unfolding. Behind me, a low, forlorn greeting was heard.
“You’re here....”
“Junhyeok, what are those three doing? I can’t even get in right now. And that person over there—I don’t think I’ve met her before. Who is she?”
“I can’t really explain, since I haven’t been able to get in from the start....”
Kwon Junhyeok said gloomily.
“A hanbok otaku? I think....”
Status windows glowed above Dok Gomin and the top director’s heads.
Dok Gomin
Artistry: A-
Jang Jinmyeong
Analysis: A
Delivery: B+
Seeing the blinking status windows, it felt like those two would be leveling up soon.
You really do learn by rolling around and getting battered on set. I looked up at Kwon Junhyeok and spoke with certainty.
“I think this scene is going to turn out insanely well. Myungdo–Seoryeong. An all-time masterpiece. Five thousand stars.”
“Well... you’re always good, so it’ll turn out well....”
Kwon Junhyeok replied awkwardly. I’d heard he’d done amazingly in the swordplay scene recently—so why was he this unconfident?
“I think you’ll be even better this time, Junhyeok.”
“Ahhh—. You really don’t have to praise me like that. It just makes me more nervous....”
No. Seriously.
‘This feels like it’s going to be legendary.’
[Name: Kwon Junhyeok]
Level: 890,000 followers
Titles: Harness Guy / Baby Gangster / Jun-Mommy / Myungdo <<< NEW!!! fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
Delivery: D
Analysis: D
Concentration: B
Every line of text in Kwon Junhyeok’s status window was blinking. freewёbnoνel.com
The scene to come. For him—and for <Strange Tales>—it was bound to become an unforgettable moment.
