Free Web Novel* * *
Shim Juhwan’s heart pounded at the words “Han Yeoreum dating rumor.”
“So it’s finally happened....”
At last, at long last, the truth that only those in the know had known was finally being exposed.
“Ha... this is going to affect Yeoreumie’s next project....”
Contrary to his words, Shim Juhwan’s eyes sparkled. He was worried about Han Yeoreum, who was probably in the middle of filming with Han Yohan, but excitement outweighed everything else.
“So she really went all the way to see him.”
She must have felt guilty for missing the fan meeting and gone to comfort him... thinking that since it was overseas, they wouldn’t get caught. She had definitely gone all the way to Russia.
Because this wasn’t a delusion.
The two of them were officially dating.
“Huh?”
But when Shim Juhwan checked the rumor expecting a two-shot of Myeong Jeha and Han Yeoreum, he was met with an unexpected combination.
“Why Han Yohan?”
The photos that had been released had been secretly taken by an ordinary person. There were several pictures of the two walking together in front of the cathedral.
One of them had been zoomed in so much that the quality had become completely blurred, but somehow that gave it a nice feel. It looked like it had been edited that way on purpose, giving it a certain atmosphere.
“What am I supposed to do with this?”
Shim Juhwan almost subtly tried contacting Han Yeoreum, but stopped himself, figuring her phone was probably exploding right now.
After being flustered for a moment, he covered his mouth with one hand.
“This is bad...!”
And of all people, it was Han Yohan—the Romance Killer, the Grim Reaper of Romance, Romance Guaranteed Failure, a man burdened with all kinds of titles. Han Yeoreum’s first dating rumor had broken with that Han Yohan.
Looking at the photos, they gave off an even better feeling than during the script reading.
And Shim Juhwan wasn’t the only one who felt it.
-Anonymous 101: No but seriously, they look ridiculously good together....
↳ Anonymous 105: facts, I’ve been a Han Yohan fan since debut and this is the first time he’s had chemistry this good with an actress LMAO I don’t even know what to say
-Anonymous 123: I think it’s real, honestly. Ordinary people are better at noticing these things lolol
-Anonymous 145: Wait, were they supposed to be the January 1st couple reveal? But some random person leaked it early?
↳ Anonymous 152: Omg that makes sense
-Anonymous 188: Isn’t arguing whether they’re dating or not based on stalker photos against the board rules? Why the hell is everyone spreading rumors so proudly?
The public only exploded even more after seeing the pictures.
Shim Juhwan sighed.
“This is bad....”
But contrary to his words, his eyes sparkled again. He couldn’t help smiling broadly.
“I wonder how jealous Myeong Jeha is right now!”
Countless scenes... no, official facts. Real situations. They played before his eyes.
“He’s the actual boyfriend!”
A sulking Myeong Jeha. Myeong Jeha being strangely incompatible with Han Yohan. Myeong Jeha becoming suspicious whether it might somehow be true and therefore unable to even contact her first. Myeong Jeha unable to focus on work, booking a ticket to Russia, then spending ages fiddling with his passport.
This had to be real.
* * *
At that very moment, Myeong Jeha was calmly doing push-ups.
“Seriously! Why hasn’t that mutt’s agency released an official statement yet? It’s so frustrating! They just went out for a walk!”
This was the Do It and It Works Action Academy.
Kwak Cheolsik was making a scene as if it were his own business. Yun Hyeonjo, sitting nearby drinking water, answered.
“The buzz shifted from the school violence issue to the dating rumor~. Leaving it alone for half a day is more efficient for burying the previous controversy.”
“At this rate, reporters are going to spend the whole broadcast talking about pink vibes between Han Yohan and Han Yeoreum!”
“They need that much support if they don’t want romance to flop again~.”
“At this rate, how’s my little mutt ever supposed to get married?!”
Yun Hyeonjo had no desire to continue talking with Kwak Cheolsik, who was worrying about Han Yeoreum’s distant future. He set down his water and naturally left.
Kwak Cheolsik turned to Myeong Jeha, who hadn’t stopped doing push-ups.
Myeong Jeha had gone straight to the action academy to work out after returning to Korea. Already standing as rigid and sharp as a young soldier, he was asked:
“Jeha! You brat! What do you think about this dating rumor situation?!”
“Mmm....”
Refusing to answer immediately, Myeong Jeha stubbornly completed two more repetitions before finishing his set and getting up. Wiping his sweat with the towel around his neck, he smiled.
“It’s not even real, so what’s the issue?”
At the °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° brief and simple answer, Kwak Cheolsik exploded.
“Exactly! Since it’s not real, they should clear it up quickly! Especially when nothing’s getting more attention than that mutt’s drama right now! It’s spreading everywhere!”
Myeong Jeha looked at him almost as if admiring him.
In his head, he roughly calculated JC and Yeonggwang’s plans, remembered Jeongdam’s next move after wasting money on reverse marketing, and then thought of Han Yeoreum.
“Haha.”
Myeong Jeha laughed.
Because it was amusing to watch the world, which had always been entirely predictable, gradually collapse.
* * *
Dating rumors or not, the 〈Code Name: Time Seven〉 team had come out to the filming set.
“It’s a hundred times better than school violence!”
“Hahaha. Free publicity! Nice, nice!”
“Our drama survived! Wooo!”
In a short amount of time, the production company, the broadcaster, and even the staff had become united.
Everyone knew how much damage a scandalous actor could bring to a project.
Kim Jisang was gone.
There was nothing left to fear.
Han Yohan and I, caught up in this sudden dating rumor, sat in chairs on set.
To think I had added a dating scandal to Han Yohan’s career, which had been so clean it was practically pure white. I must have relaxed after coming to Russia.
‘Who am I?’
At the moment, I was receiving expectations from both the public and the industry as the actress who would usher in a generational change among the Troika of leading actresses... no, this wasn’t the time to be happy.
I apologized to Han Yohan, who was quietly watching the staff.
“Senior, I’m sorry.”
“It’s not something to worry about.... I’m the one who decided to follow you, so don’t feel bad.”
“Still. If I’d gone alone, none of this would’ve happened.”
“If I’d let you go alone... and something happened, I would’ve regretted it. So in the end... I’m the selfish one....”
For a moment, I understood why every romance project he touched failed.
‘Because the real person is better than the character.’
The ability to erase every trace of guilt.
Not everyone could possess something like that.
I cast off all my guilt and let my vulgar calculator begin turning.
Its performance had leveled up to absurd heights. It operated on a completely different level compared to before.
‘This is amazing.’
Plus points because my first dating rumor partner was Han Yohan, whose upright image made him highly likable to the public.
And tomorrow, once Dok Gomin’s insane still cuts are released, viewers’ expectations would rise even higher.
“I really wish Dok Gomin’s photos would be released already. Mmhm. Not just anyone can take still cuts like these.”
“That’s exactly how I feel, unnie.”
I hugged Dok Gomin tightly as she plopped herself right onto my lap.
Just thinking about using all this attention as fuel and turning the situation upside down in one shot thrilled me.
‘Because it creates the atmosphere that not only Han Yeoreum, but the project itself, possesses star quality.’
A core fanbase for the drama would form before it even started.
Haters naturally brought fans.
Since Han Yohan and I both had favorable public images, we could pull in fans from all demographics.
‘I took back the buzz Jo Eunnara stole from me!’
Thinking that Han Yeoreum had become the protagonist again after the unfair trade where I took the hate while Jo Eunnara received all the attention made me feel pleased.
‘I don’t know who uploaded those photos first, but thank you very much.’
Please, everyone, focus only on me.
And later, as the story grew darker and darker, people would dig up those witness photos and remember this time.
Like a precious little incident that strengthened even the viewers who weathered all the storms together.
Of course, <Summer Day> would be anxious for a little while.
‘And then a photo of Han Yeoreum looking insanely good with a red scarf gets released?’
Aww, what is this... I really thought it was a dating scandal... hehe, silly. There’s no way I’d do something like that while leaving <Summer Day> behind. Ugh, whatever.... More pictures please.... I want more still cuts.... Of course, here’s my first scene. Don’t cry. Even crying is cute.... What? You’re crying because you don’t have enough storage space to save the pictures? Oh dear. Is that because I fed everyone too much content this year, or because <Summer Day> loves me so much they save every version with different edits? Both? Hahaha hohoho hahaha hohoho....
Just as the vulgar calculator smoothly transitioned into the delusion factory—
“Writer!”
“Director!”
Galdaeguk and Ma Eungyo finally appeared on set.
“Right. Everyone, gather around.”
“Cough, cough....”
Galdaeguk’s throat was even worse than when he had been hospitalized, but his eyes remained unchanged.
[Everyone, attention!!!]
He announced with the sketchbook in his hand, still as loud as ever.
Kim Jisang, that lunatic who insisted it had all been a youthful mistake, had driven Galdaeguk into such a rage that he had developed vocal nodules.
“We’re not going to waver in the slightest. I don’t know much, but people who’ve read my script say that just its quality alone gives them confidence? So they’re not shaken at all.”
Ma Eungyo, who had to revise the script in a hurry, stood there no differently.
The two stood before the staff just as they always had.
Because they were first-rate.
Because they were professionals.
“The lines changed, and the scenes changed... but the characters didn’t. I think everyone knows what that means.”
The work’s intentions had not changed.
Knowing the writer still held the center calmed the atmosphere.
Even the boycott tags and the joining of the unlucky icon Jo Eunnara seemed to melt away.
Scratch scratch scratch scratch!
Galdaeguk furiously wrote on his sketchbook.
[Let’s all!!! Endure a little longer!!!]
[Because!!!]
He flipped to the next page.
[We...
Are one!!!]
Strength filled Galdaeguk’s eyes.
There was the spirit of a master who absolutely refused to let this work collapse.
“Urgh....”
“Director...!”
The assistant director at the front dropped to his knees in emotion.
“We obey!”
All the staff around him dropped to their knees as well.
“We obey!”
It looked like martial artists preparing themselves before heading into battle.
The cold winter wind of Russia blew.
But the hearts of the 〈Code Name: Time Seven〉 staff burned hotter than ever.
* * *
Aetami couldn’t focus on work.
She felt like her soul had left her body.
Input:
11111123dnsmaeonoysbyaeojdyoneoamoaneomnomijaebjdyearila; TT___TT
i want to see more
Her hands rested on the keyboard, but she couldn’t think of what to write.
Those same hands had recently been busy quoting posts from Han Yeoreum’s guardian warrior on Tr*tter, @zP9qL5mNk0.
‘Han Yohan....’
As much as she hated to admit it, Han Yohan and Yeoreum looked good together in the pictures.
The chemistry they created just by standing together was astonishing.
Those blurry late-night photos looked even better than the crystal-clear script reading photos.
-Anonymous 201: Why isn’t JC saying anything lololol guess it’s real
↳ Anonymous 225: facts, if it wasn’t they would’ve denied it within an hour lolol
-Anonymous 229: They look good together TT_TT I support them
-Anonymous 234: So even the Grim Reaper of Romance has crazy chemistry when he’s with his real girlfriend...
-Anonymous 265: Wasn’t Han Yohan the one who cast Beopsun in <Dongdaemun Romance>? lool He just wanted an excuse to visit his girlfriend’s set through the dog
↳ Anonymous 288: Ahhhh so cute TT__TT Han Yohan is sneakier than I thought
The response to the dating rumor was overwhelmingly positive.
The atmosphere mocking the drama as a washing machine for a school-violence actor disappeared instantly.
That alone was a gain.
‘But....’
Aetami felt empty.
She couldn’t even bring herself to save Yeoreum’s new pictures.
Reading her own feelings, she realized something.
One day, the time would come when she could sincerely congratulate Yeoreum on her relationship.
But that time simply wasn’t now.
‘She still has to climb higher....’
As she imagined Han Yeoreum soaring to unimaginable heights, her monitor displayed only one thing.
Input:
I want to see moooooooore 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
* * *
“We’ve attracted enough attention, right?”
“Yep. We even buried the Great Power versus Defeated Nation meme.”
“We’ll bring that back after the broadcast starts.”
Great Power versus Defeated Nation.
101 incidents involving Jo Eunnara.
Jo Eunnara, the unfortunate actor reduced to supporting roles even in dramas after early cancellations.
Jo Eunnara’s face.
And everything else.
Whatever it was, all the attention that had gathered around Jo Eunnara had shifted.
Everything had been buried beneath the Han Yeoreum–Han Yohan dating rumor.
The combination of the hottest actress and a likable actor known for failed romances created synergy beyond expectations.
“What’s Yeonggwang saying?”
“They’re incredibly grateful. Apparently it’s the first time Han Yohan’s gotten this kind of positive reaction for romance.”
“As they should. They’re using our kid’s face.”
Team Leader Hong checked the time.
Pulling a silent confirmation with “No official statement,” he decided that although it would be nice to drag it out longer, timing before the year-end awards was important.
“Release the statement and put out the still cuts tonight.”
Everything was about striking and retreating.
Team Leader Hong showed off his push-and-pull skills by not releasing the statement and still cuts simultaneously.
Push once with “Maybe it’s not true?”
Then pull with “Ahhh, it really is!”
This was JC ENM.
The birthplace of attention-grabbing.
Even dating rumors were just another thing to exploit while playing with the public.
