Free Web Novel* * *
“Seriously insane.”
Deduck.B reporter Wi Jaehwi had already written and uploaded the article about JC ENM and Han Yeoreum’s contract faster than anyone else.
[Hello, reporter! It’s been a while since I last contacted you. This is Han Yeoreum. I’m reaching out because there’s some news I wanted to share.]
It was thanks to Yeoreum, who had politely reached out first. The message she sent saying she had just finished signing her contract ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ felt like she’d grown far beyond where she’d been back when <ParCheHi> was airing.
Input: <ParCheHi> opens a new chapter for domestic web dramas.... Will it hit trending again with ‘ten million views’?
Reporter Wi couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from lifting. It was a level of success that couldn’t even be compared to past web dramas.
‘All that effort adding foreign-language subtitles was worth it. Seriously.’ frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Foreign viewers with a fascination for K-high-teen content spread the word, flooding in to watch, and the view count and comment numbers exploded.
-What even is this.. I’ve never seen romance done like this-Wwww I couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing o(〃’▽’〃)o
-The face is way too cute and unbeatable... somehow feels all soft and fluffy.
-WOW I can’t really explain it, but I definitely feel like this video is interesting—if you’re a K-pop fan, you’ll get what I mean
︎˪I completely agree with this, I get it exactly!! It felt like a scene from a K-pop music video!
‘Now even K-pop fans are getting pulled in.’
Well, either way, good was good. Reporter Wi checked even the foreign reactions sorted by recommendation while continuing to write his article. He was just about to proofread the rapidly finished piece.
“Reporter Wi. What are you writing?”
“<ParCheHi> just passed ten million views a bit ago.”
“Oh~. I knew that one would do well.”
The senior who had come over nodded briefly toward one side of the monitor. The messenger window was blinking.
“Finish that, then write a Do Gyeoul article.”
“On what angle?”
“The drama she’s entering this time. Male lead’s fixed. I heard SBC jumped in as producer—picked a decent-looking face.”
“Oh....”
At Wi’s lukewarm response, the senior tilted his head.
It wasn’t the reaction he’d expected. Wi was usually enthusiastic about anything drama-related.
Wi shifted his focus from Do Gyeoul back to Han Yeoreum.
“Do you think Han Yeoreum won’t do dramas? Isn’t JC preparing anything for her?”
“Oh, I know about that.”
A colleague who’d been listening in joined the conversation. Winking at Wi, he spoke in a conspiratorial tone.
“They’re discussing the rights to <Strange Tales>, apparently? The ASMR thing Han Yeoreum did.”
“Really? That’s getting dramatized?”
“Who knows. But if they’re casting the lead, wouldn’t they give it to Han Yeoreum? She matches the original protagonist well, too.”
“So that’s why you said you’ve been tired every day—because you were reading web novels?”
“I couldn’t sleep because I kept wondering about the next chapter.”
The colleague laughed sheepishly, then went on with a reporter-like analysis about why it was more fun than expected, and why Han Yeoreum suited the protagonist so well.
“The protagonist looks harmless on the outside, but once you know her, the spiritual energy is just—.”
“No spoilers. Stop there.”
Cutting him off, Wi started typing again at a steady pace.
Input: Do Gyeoul’s male counterpart Roh Seungchan, first male lead role in <Beyond the Closed Door>....
Writing the article in a businesslike manner, Wi thought to himself.
‘Honestly.... It’ll probably get good ratings.’
A rom-com script that had stood out from competitions, the attention focused on Do Gyeoul as she graduated from child roles, a male actor with good visual chemistry, and even a solid director.
‘If this goes well, Do Gyeoul could shoot straight to the top among actresses in their twenties.’
The more he pieced the information together, the more the formula for ideal success came into view. Do Gyeoul seemed to have made a perfectly stable choice.
* * *
“Hello. I’m Choi Seonhye, and starting today I’ll be Han Yeoreum’s manager. I’m twenty-nine, and before this I managed a girl group idol.”
The moment the contract was stamped, JC ENM’s care system was set up immediately.
First was the manager. A tall woman introduced herself.
“Please treat me comfortably, like an older sister! I played volleyball, so I’ve got good stamina—don’t feel bad and don’t hesitate if you need me to do something. That’s what I’m here for.”
She had an open, refreshing smile. I took the hand she suddenly held out to me. I could feel the rough calluses unique to athletes.
“Yes. Please speak comfortably. Unni.”
“Thanks. Then shall I?”
Choi Seonhye tightened her grip and pulled me into a hug. I could tell she was an easygoing person.
“Alright! Then let’s get to know each other gradually. Shall we go take a look at what’s already prepared?”
With her arm around my shoulders, Choi Seonhye walked off briskly. We arrived in front of a gleaming car. A Carnival Hi-Limousine.
In other words, a celebrity minivan.
“This... could it be....”
“Yes.”
“Can I get in right now?!”
As if asking was pointless, Choi Seonhye opened the door for me.
The door slid open smoothly, and there were small curtains on the windows. The seats weren’t the basic ones—they’d been replaced with softer, light-beige seats. Inside, plush cushions and a neatly folded blanket were arranged.
“Wow....”
The moment I sat down, it felt like my body was being sucked into the seat. Seeing my reaction, Choi Seonhye handed me a water bottle with a straw.
“You like it that much?”
“Unni.... I really feel like I’ve become a celebrity.... I’m honestly overwhelmed.”
I was just about to sink into the feeling that I’d truly taken my first step into a new acting life—
“Hello. I’m Hwang Jihye, Han Yeoreum’s coordinator. I really enjoyed <ParCheHi>. While watching it, I kept thinking about different styling ideas, so I’m really happy to be working together like this. I felt it back when you had the long black hair with full bangs—classic styles suit you well, but twisting them just a bit into something more trendy suits you too. Today’s outfit, matched to your current hair color—.”
“Whoa, you startled me.”
—when a human voice came from the back of the trunk. Looking closely, the space between the hanging clothes was bustling.
“Jihye. You can’t see faces from there. Come out a bit.”
“Oh. I could see both of you through the clothes, so I thought you could obviously see me too.”
Charrk— the clothes parted to either side, and the woman hidden between them appeared. Adjusting her glasses, Hwang Jihye was holding a lint roller in one hand, apparently in the middle of tidying up.
“Thank you. Did you prepare all of this, Coordinator Hwang?”
“No! I went to Team Leader Ryu’s office this morning. For offline events—ah, of course brand events will use outfits they send—but premieres, interviews, script readings, broadcast appearances, pictorials, and costumes for projects will all be handled by Team Leader Ryu. I’m in charge on-site! I’ll prepare the outfits styled by Team Leader Ryu, and dress you in whichever ones you choose.”
If it was Team Leader Ryu, there was only one person I knew.
“By any chance.... That Team Leader Ryu is....”
“That’s right! Ryu Risa!”
No way. A star stylist assigned to a rookie? Ryu Risa, who only managed top-tier actors?
Seeing my reaction, the manager and coordinator exchanged glances and smiled.
“You can’t be getting shocked over things like this already.”
“Exactly. This is just the beginning. We still have contracts to sign upstairs.”
“Contracts...? I already signed one....”
Were there more contracts left besides the JC ENM exclusive? While I stood there confused, they answered easily.
“An N Company model contract. And—.”
“We also got a call asking you to shoot one more ALAB ad!” ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
Jegal Rok’s words were true.
“We promise unpredictable, full-scale support.”
A world that felt like it had been prepared for me all along stepped boldly closer. Today, the world felt blindingly hot.
As if I’d been thrown into the middle of summer, my breath caught in my chest.
* * *
This was Gangnam District. At a studio near Seolleung Station, filming equipment was being set up at full speed. Blinding lights shifted angles, and cameras and monitors were positioned.
“Let’s wrap up the steaming quickly—.”
“I told you to put the main product in front! The order changed!”
In the space prepared inside, clothes hung densely on racks. N Company’s FW new products. Among them, right at the front, were gray sneakers.
The product that could be said to have carried most of N Company’s sales last season.
“Do you think changing the model was the right call?”
An assistant asked the visual director from N Company.
There was a hint of unease in his voice. Understandably so—until recently, N Company’s exclusive model had been a wildly popular idol whose name everyone knew.
Choosing not to renew and instead pivoting straight to a rising star was practically a gamble.
“If we didn’t change the model, what would we do? Could we really renew out of pride? We even lost the name.”
The visual director answered while gazing at the sneakers. The FW new product had a slight color variation added to the existing light gray. A strawberry-milk-like pink hue was mixed in.
It was a design that seemed to evoke someone.
“Those sneakers are already being called the Pi Chaewon sneakers more than their original model name. Thinking about it again, this really was the right choice.”
Thanks to <ParCheHi> mass-producing Pi Chaewon ‘Son Min-su’ trends. This new model was created with Pi Chaewon from that time as its motif. The design team’s choice seemed correct.
“Yeoreum—! We’re going to shoot video clips and the pictorial at the same time. You heard the explanation earlier, right? Before you get tired, we’ll just grab the short clips first.”
“Yes. Got it!”
Wearing the design N Company wanted to push the most among the new products, Yeoreum accepted a small microphone.
A smile formed at the visual director’s lips. She suited it even better than expected.
“Here, please speak comfortably while looking at this lens.”
Facing the camera straight on, Yeoreum’s lips slowly parted.
