Free Web Novel* * *
Dokgo Min stared blankly at the subject placed before her.
An unfamiliar color seeped into a space she knew too well.
A bluish light—long unused and shoved into a corner—spilled hazy dust as it powered on.
“Blue....”
Until a moment ago, Dokgo Min’s thoughts had been unfocused.
Han Yeoreum pulled something out of that haze.
“I thought this kind of lighting might work. Something unfamiliar. You’re so good with colors, Dokgo Min–sunbae.”
Dokgo Min had suffered through a long slump.
She’d tried everything she could think of to escape it.
Right... why didn’t I think of this until now?
She’d changed her studio, changed her camera, cycled through countless models—
But none of them had ever sparked her inspiration.
“Like this— the lighting—”
Yeoreum adjusted the not-yet-heated lamp.
As the light shifted, it rippled across her face.
That slight movement sent a cascade of sensations through Dokgo Min.
“Han Yeoreum...”
Cool, clear, vivid, fresh.
“This angle right now.”
In that blink, the cloudy lump of inspiration hardened into shape.
“Good.”
For once, the girl who normally babbled nonstop spoke plainly.
There it is.
Yeoreum remembered Dokgo Min’s old interview from before regression and smirked.
—Inspiration, hmm~... I get distracted easily. Before I start shooting, I can’t organize my thoughts.
But once something clicks? I get clean. In my head, in my speech, everything.
As ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) if confirming Yeoreum’s memory, Dokgo Min’s lips slowly curled upward.
Her cat-like eyes combed over Yeoreum, leaving nothing unchecked—
a gaze fiercely calculating how to capture perfection through the lens.
“Mmm~ correction.”
She stepped closer, tilting her head, studying Yeoreum from every direction.
“It’s not just that I like it...”
Her eyes burned with desire. Then she blinked—hard.
Click, click.
As if her eyelids themselves were shutters.
“I like it a lot.”
Yeoreum beamed at the praise.
A smile that suited the blue lighting almost too well.
For an instant, joy flickered in Dokgo Min’s eyes.
“This isn’t the time to stand around! Right now—this moment!”
She shouted, then moved with explosive speed.
Clack, clack, clack.
She raised the tripod high, reset the monitor angle, yanked out the charging battery and shoved it into the camera.
Blue light wrapped around her glasses as she pushed them up.
“What are you doing? Don’t just stand there—come here!”
Turning her head, calling Yeoreum over, her profile carried a sharp, shadowed confidence.
“I’m going to show you a face you’ve never seen before.”
Click—!
Shutter sounds filled the studio.
It was the moment a genius photographer’s muse was born.
* * *
After connecting the camera to her computer, Dokgo Min began sorting through the photos she liked.
Pick out the A-cuts and delete everything else.
That was her usual method.
Anything below an A-cut was never worth revisiting and only took up storage.
“Mmm~ this is a problem.”
But as she scrolled quickly, she fell into serious conflict.
“Why?”
“They’re all A-cuts. All of them! Ugh, my genius hasn’t rusted at all.”
Every photo was an A-cut.
No—several surpassed that, worthy of calling S-cuts.
“I thought it was a slump, but it was just a step back before leaping forward... This is a kind of terrifying talent.”
She went through photo after photo, marking them with hearts.
Click, click, click.
Her mouse clicked nonstop.
She was so absorbed she didn’t even hear Yeoreum leave the room.
Where did this even come from?
The girl said she was in acting, right?
The model who visited her today was acting in front of the lens.
Each cut looked back at her with a different gaze.
There’s not a single shot I can throw away.
Han Yeoreum had not been awkward in front of the camera for even a second.
Not once.
Where did...
Even professional models usually wasted the first few shots—
facial muscles adjusting, angles testing the lighting,
a single photograph containing countless variables.
But her? What is this?
Actors, people said, were those who spoke with their eyes.
They had to convey every emotion solely through their gaze—
to tell a story through it.
How can she...
And beyond that, actors had to spark curiosity with nothing but their eyes.
Han Yeoreum fulfilled all those conditions effortlessly.
You can do it, right?
As if daring the lens to keep up,
as if no amount of attention was ever enough.
Click, click, click.
Dokgo Min spent the whole night polishing Yeoreum’s photos.
Han Yeoreum (132)
And so, she finished editing every single photo without deleting even one.
For some reason... I feel like I’ll look at Han Yeoreum’s photos again...
No—she was certain she would.
* * *
Ding—!
[!Debuff!]
The user’s skill [〈Instant Shutter〉] locked due to [Slump] has been unlocked!
[Dokgo Min] has gained inspiration from you!
[First Title] has been awarded.]
Several shimmering system windows popped up at once.
With a buzzing sound effect, I received my first title.
[Name: Han Yeoreum]
Level: Unknown
Title: Dokgo Min’s Muse <<< NEW!!!]
“Finally!!!”
My status window showed the new title, sparkling brightly.
This feels pretty good.
The second window carried the reward I received for lifting Dokgo Min’s debuff.
▶ Hidden Reward
[Lucky Point] ←
300p]
“Lucky Points?”
I tapped the blinking arrow, and a helpful description appeared.
Lucky Points: Points usable in the Item Shop. The Item Shop opens once you reach a certain level.
“So basically, it’s like a game.”
Meaning: I need to level up first.
“Then I should finish the remaining mission.”
Zzzing—.
Right on cue, my phone buzzed.
Dokgo Min had sent the photos.
“Perfect. Time to upload.”
I opened the file she sent.
The scroll... didn’t end.
“Why... are there so many?”
Given Dokgo Min’s pride, sending even three or four would’ve been huge.
Instead, she sent a massive compressed folder.
“First, let’s make an SNS account.”
I debated which photo to post, then opened the app. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
I had deleted my UStar account in senior year of high school and never rejoined.
So: 0 followers, 0 following.
“I’ll make a separate private account.”
The entertainment industry was like politics.
If even one questionable person showed up in your following list,
you were done for.
[HOT] Let’s analyze the follower list of the actor currently getting dragged
(feat. That Fam)
Let’s check out the contacts of the actor who just crashed due to a DUI!
(photo)
They got named in an initial-letter article once,
then kept power-tripping and finally got exposed T_T
(photo)
Another one whose old interview resurfaced,
but now acts squeaky-clean for the “concept” T_T
(photo)
Someone who usually isn’t even close with them,
but once shit went down, they insta-cut ties on their Story T_T
(photo)
Not a single decent person here lolol
No wonder people say “don’t trust the clowns who powder their faces”~
Anon1 Wow seeing it all together is creepy as hell lolololol T_T
Anon2 They didn’t even try to hide it... I’m ashamed I ever liked them
Anon3 The funniest part is there’s an actor getting popular recently
who’s also in That Fam’s follow list lololol
˪Anon17 I was thinking the same. Ahem...!
˪Anon24 Who?? TT_TT Tell us even just the initials please
˪Anon35 No, don’t. Their fans’ll swarm in
“Just in our school alone...”
I knew at least three people would disappear due to scandals.
“No reason to get tangled up with them.”
And that’s not even counting the people I’d meet in the future.
Caution would only help me.
“My goal is just one.”
To build a strong, unshakeable network—one that can stand against Do Gyeoul’s connections.
“Then let’s get started.”
This was the fastest road to success.
