Free Web Novel* * *
From far away, a soccer ball came flying.
“Hey! Watch out!”
“Move!”
“What are you doing?!”
Thwack—!
With a loud, jarring sound, the boy who took the ball straight to the face was named Wang Haoyu.
The ball, kicked with full force, dropped to the ground and rolled a couple of times.
“Are you okay?”
“Wang Haoyu!”
“Hey, he’s crying!”
Wang Haoyu, who always played soccer in the middle of the field, was now sitting alone on the steps, staring blankly ahead.
“Wang Haoyu! Does it hurt a lot?”
“...Yeah.”
He picked up one side of his fallen earphones and put it back in. On his phone, the music that had been streaming appeared on screen.
[Hee jae -The Great Garand Ost]
“My heart...”
Dragging his feet as he walked off the field with his bag, Wang Haoyu was suffering from a disease that a man named Ja Sokhwan had spread across Taiwan.
The so-called Hee jae syndrome.
Right now, 〈The Great Garland〉 had just revealed that Taejin’s father had been a collaborator, and Taejin’s “stock” had completely crashed.
“...Ha.”
With a lonely look in his eyes, Wang Haoyu stood at the crosswalk. The red light felt just like his mood.
“I saw spoilers, okay? Taejin’s not that kind of guy.”
“What do you mean he’s not that kind of guy?”
“...Just watch. You’ll get it.”
In Taiwan, at this point, if you weren’t watching 〈The Great Garland〉, you couldn’t even hold a conversation. That was how high the ratings were. Calling it a national drama didn’t even begin to cover the frenzy.
If those five from 〈The Great Garland〉 showed up at a Taiwanese airport right now, it wouldn’t just be crowded—it would completely shut the place down.
After the initial bait of Episode 1 and the “insanity arc” of Episode 4, the entire country had boarded the roller coaster Ja Sokhwan was driving.
And that was the problem.
“If it’s first love, then of course the real one has to be Taeseok!”
“You guys don’t get it... love doesn’t work like that.”
“Hey, first love lasts till the grave.”
“Look at who she worked with in the next project.”
Nearby, Meiling, Xinlei, Jiarong, and Weixin were split into Team Taeseok and Team Taejin, practically tearing into each other.
Wang Haoyu lifted his head and looked up at the blue sky.
“Why’s he acting like he’s Taeseok or something?”
“Staring at planes won’t make you that level.”
The four, who had just been arguing about “true love,” immediately switched to throwing insults. Wang Haoyu ignored them.
His gaze was fixed on a tall building—the department store across the crosswalk.
On its outer wall, where a long line had formed for Taiwan Ruel’s 〈The Great Garland〉 feature, a massive image of Han Yeoreum appeared.
“Hey—hey, isn’t that Yeoreum unnie?”
“What? Did the ad change?”
Even as the traffic light turned green, people began turning their heads at Meiling and Xinlei’s shouts.
Han Yeoreum’s face filled the entire exterior wall.
“Aaah!”
Then it happened. Someone standing at the crosswalk screamed.
“Adult Taeseok and baby Huijae are on screen together!”
As if that cry were a signal, foreign viewers began flooding into SBC’s Intube official channel at an explosive rate.
* * *
This was SBC’s New Media Content Department.
“Check the comment count again.”
The behind-the-scenes video of Ji Haebeom’s shoot was expected to do well.
After all, 〈The Great Garland〉 had ended in spectacular fashion worthy of a national drama, and this was the first time audiences were seeing Ji Haebeom in a new project.
“...Is this real?”
But no one expected this level of response.
-It feels like a reincarnation scene of Taeseok and Huijae. I think... my life existed just to see something like this.
-Please bring Yeoreum unnie’s new drama to Taiwan soon... There are so many people who love unnie. Come visit Taiwan again♥︎
-Hee jae T.T Hee jae T.T Hee jae T.T
-Yeoreum unnie will definitely marry Haebeom oppa. The proof is in the way he looks at her.
˪Are you insane?
Not just Koreans, but viewers from Taiwan, Singapore, and Hong Kong—everywhere 〈The Great Garland〉 was airing—were coming directly to leave comments.
“Move this to the community boards, now.”
〈See You That Day〉 had entered its full-blown love triangle phase, transitioning smoothly into the male lead’s regret arc, culminating in a perfectly executed kiss scene where music, direction, and acting all aligned flawlessly.
Hong Suryeon had delivered the exact romantic comedy everyone wanted, without a single flaw.
[Drama/Film/Actor TALK / Hong Suryeon has chemistry with anyone, but this one is insane]
This one actually feels real... I swear I’m not delusional, but they started it first
-Anonymous 1: they started it first2222
˪Anonymous 3: they started it first33 TT_TT
-Anonymous 5: I couldn’t close my mouth the whole time watching the making... just get married already... everyone wants it
-Anonymous 9: from visuals to chemistry there’s not a single weak point so it makes you even more obsessed T_T Hong Suryeon’s peak cuteness is in this project
˪Anonymous 13: I just want them to work together one more time... please
˪Anonymous 16: please please please
And right at the perfect moment, they released behind-the-scenes footage that made people understand exactly what “over-immersion” meant.
ScreenDaze (UK drama account) @ScreenDaze
(See You That Day kiss scene.Mp4) fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm
The guy hugs her way too tightly
Retweets 8722 Likes 21K
˪(www.http://intube....)
Watch the making too >///<
The cute and lovely kiss scene was paired with heartbeat sound effects that matched the viewers’ emotions perfectly.
It was the kind of episode that made you understand why Hong Suryeon had reached the top with just one romantic comedy.
But then, Lee Seohae from 〈Unfair Trade〉 began catching up fast.
Familiar flavor vs. desired flavor—Hong Suryeon versus Han Yeoreum.
Drama fans split into two camps, arguing quietly but intensely.
〈Unfair Trade〉, with ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ its provocative themes and constant twists, had been praised by genre fans. But in terms of mass appeal, it had inevitably fallen behind 〈See You That Day〉.
SBC changed that.
By releasing the making video two weeks before broadcast, they snatched away a huge portion of the romance audience.
Muaaaang @maaaaang
This is insane... baby Huijae interacting with both adult Taeseok AND adult Taejin?? f*ck, Ja Sokhwan’s 101 shadows
Retweets 1251 Likes 3322
As soon as new content related to 〈The Great Garland〉—the drama that had united fans earlier that year—appeared, everyone lost their minds.
[The Great Garland | Holy sh*t, watched the Unfair Trade making and my heart nearly stopped]
[The Great Garland | Yes... this is exactly what I wanted... yes... I’m drooling...]
[The Great Garland | I thought I was hallucinating... thought I was in a coma;;]
[The Great Garland | Please release behind-the-scenes too, not just making cuts, give us everything TT_TT]
[Unfair Trade | Guys, wrong category...T_T please follow the rules, this belongs under Unfair Trade...]
Fans of 〈See You That Day〉, who mainly consumed romance.
Fans of 〈Unfair Trade〉, who were already losing their minds over the concept of baby Huijae meeting adult Taejin.
Fans of 〈As Expected, Happy Ending〉, who were hate-watching just to see how bad it could get.
All of them—
[HOT / The Great Garland gallery started fighting again.jpg]
(Unfair Trade making.jpg)
(Ji Haebeom face capture.jpg)
(Han Yeoreum making with Shin Seojin.jpg)
(The gallery fighting again.jpg)
There is no cure for the madness Ja Sokhwan spread.
-Anonymous 1: f*ck LMAO I’m so sick of this lolol but baby Huijae fits better with adult Taejin
˪Anonymous 11: 2222 the chemistry is here
-Anonymous 14: it was already confirmed Taeseok is the real one lolol Taejin fans are insane
˪Anonymous 26: seriously, know when to stop. Huijae only ever loved Taeseok, stop dragging a finished drama, get over it^^
˪Anonymous 45: you sound the most obsessed right now...
˪Anonymous 59: 22 lolol who’s the obsessed one here
-Anonymous 63: haven’t seen Ji Haebeom with his hair down in forever T_T I love it so much
˪Anonymous 115: our baby is so polite, a proper Confucian girl
-Anonymous 201: foreigners are flooding the comments too LOOL wow this drama is really popular
Once again, people were drowning in nostalgia for 〈The Great Garland〉. In an instant, all the spotlight shifted to 〈Unfair Trade〉.
The power of romance was overwhelming.
INTUBE
[Special guest reunited with Han Yeoreum! The man who shines brighter in the dark appears as a cameo... long-awaited forehead reveal (∗❛ᴗ❛∗) | Unfair Trade] 05:48
Views 456,778
-Ji Haebeom’s face is violent as hell, how is this rated for all ages
-Baby Huijae and adult Taeseok... SBC really did this LOLOL thank you but give us more screen time T_T
-Husband...T_T you should only show that hairstyle to me, come home now
-Ah... I remember... The Great Garland...
-Please. Please let them kiss
˪Kid...
With Ji Haebeom alone, the entire conversation was overtaken.
Because he had the power to dominate trends with just his name.
“Team Leader, 〈See You That Day〉 just dropped another video too.”
“Wait a day, then upload another one on our side.”
They knew exactly how much influence Ji Haebeom’s cameo could generate.
After the making video, they rolled out actor interviews and short-form clips, squeezing every drop of content.
“Team Leader, did you watch 〈The Great Garland〉?”
“Didn’t catch it live, but I know it. Why?”
“...This is insane...”
A staff member monitoring the trends noticed something strange.
9. [Hee jae] ▲35
The OST Hee jae from 〈The Great Garland〉 was climbing the charts again.
A monster track that hadn’t left the charts in nearly a year was now rising even higher thanks to the two-shot of Ji Haebeom and Han Yeoreum in 〈Unfair Trade〉.
The team leader scrolled further.
6. [A Letter I Write Alone] ▲4
“...Is Han Yeoreum fighting Han Yeoreum now?”
A phrase usually reserved for top singers was now being applied—absurdly—to a rising actress.
A song that felt like it existed for Han Yeoreum, and a song sung by Han Yeoreum herself.
Both were sitting comfortably in the Top 10—a place even established singers struggled to enter.
“If Episode 9 airs like this, we’ll absorb all the viewers.”
* * *
“...This is insane.”
I could feel it again—just how powerful Ji Haebeom was.
To influence a project this much with just a cameo... that’s what it meant to be called a top actor.
‘And it’s a scene with me.’
Scrolling through the comments, the most-liked ones were all about adult Taeseok and baby Huijae.
Ji Haebeom, Ji Haebeom... and more Ji Haebeom.
‘To foreign viewers, I’m still Huijae.’
Well, 〈The Great Garland〉 was still airing, so it made sense.
But something inside me stirred.
‘But I’m Han Yeoreum.’
Ji Haebeom was Ji Haebeom.
And I was Huijae.
That gap—between those two identities—slowly set my chest on fire.
“Yeoreum! Catch—knee pads!”
“Got it!”
I caught the pads thrown by Kang Hanseong, the martial arts director from the <Do It and It Works> Action Academy.
Tomorrow was the filming day for the revised action scene in 〈Unfair Trade〉.
At the academy, preparing for the final rehearsal, I strapped the pads tightly onto my knees and elbows.
‘I need to be Han Yeoreum too.’
Not Yeon Huijae.
Not Lee Seohae.
“Take it easy. If you get injured after Seojin, we’re in trouble.”
“No.”
Not just an actress who happens to share the screen with Ji Haebeom.
“I don’t have many scenes left.”
Han Yeoreum—the one who could take control of the entire project.
“Even if I get hurt, I’m doing it properly.”
I clenched my fists and looked straight at Kang Hanseong.
