Free Web Novel“The number of online viewers, the comments, the influence—Southeast Asia is powerful in all of that. That’s where our profit will come from.”
Racking up ad views from Intube clips was far too small-scale to be satisfying. No one immediately understood. They only shared glances in silence.
“NetHolix is releasing original series. Riding this momentum, it’ll enter Korea before long. I guarantee that all three terrestrial broadcasters, and even cable, will be pushed aside by OTT services.”
“...”
“Before producing Korean originals, they’ll need content worth watching for Korean audiences to run their service. And at that point, <Strange Tales> will absolutely be included. As 10–20 subscribers increase, 30–40 follows.”
A stir ran through the room.
“If NetHolix isn’t stupid, they’ll choose <Strange Tales>.”
This time, the reaction was different. It was soaked with anticipation.
“And on top of that, NetHolix originals are already in production in Japan. In a few years, won’t they be looking for places to produce in Korea as well? Then which company do you think they’ll choose?”
Jegal Rok was already looking several moves ahead.
“Won’t they look for a company whose existing works are performing well on NetHolix, and that has high mention volume not only domestically but also across Southeast Asia?”
In other words. Jegal Rok was saying he intended to grab NetHolix’s hand the moment it entered Korea.
The executives’ eyes lit up. If Jegal Rok’s prediction held true, the profits flowing into JC would be on a completely different level from anything the Chinese market could offer.
“Anyone who’d like to rebut this.”
No one could raise a hand. It was just a fusion historical drama based on a web novel—but in Jegal Rok’s hands, the scale changed entirely.
* * *
“Ah, I’m so full....”
Aetami was full even without eating. Every day, the bait kept pouring in. N Company’s new pictorial shoot and Intube clips—and finally, Yeoreum’s proper profile had dropped.
“So Yeoreum’s birthday really is in midsummer.”
August 17. She’d already saved the birthday party video that N Company had uploaded to its SNS story.
“Ah, I want to send birthday support.”
The slightly teary face in front of the cake squeezed an otaku’s heart dry. The photos Yeoreum posted on SNS were circulating through communities.
[20s Free Talk Board / Follow
Recommend some actresses who are nice to follow]
I wanna see actresses with good vibes and nice photos, save them to my gallery and copy their pics. Idols are fine, actors too! I’d rather have lots of daily photos than super high-quality ad shots.
-Choo Gaeul is cute lol fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
︎˪OP: thx thx followed Choo Gaeul done.
-Is Do Gyeoul too famous? For me her aesthetic is the best
︎˪22 honestly can’t think of anyone but Do Gyeoul lol
︎- Han Yeoreum rec. Her story photos are nice too, kinda good? My fave pic is this one (N Company pictorial birthday party photo.jpg)
︎˪holy shit wait isn’t that Pi Chaewon?? she’s so cute T_T
“It’s not as active in mentions as it was during <ParCheHi>... but even this is enough!”
At the very start of a debut, a single name, a single photo was precious. Aetami wanted Yeoreum to be imprinted unconsciously even on people who didn’t know her yet.
As always, she checked Yeoreum’s steadily rising follower count.
Youstagram
@midsummer
Followers 188K Following 0
“She’s about to break 200K followers. Why is my baby rising this hard. Huh?”
Wearing her Pi Chaewon sneakers, Aetami habitually searched Yeoreum’s name on the portal site again.
Photos from five minutes ago popped up—Yeoreum attending N Company’s offline event. Seeing Yeoreum in an ivory knit set made her heart race.
“My daughter.... My daughter Han Yeoreum.... Seriously, a legend again today.”
Click—.
[Would you like to purchase?]
Aetami rushed into N Company’s site and bought the outfit Yeoreum was wearing without even bothering to put it in her cart. She’d already bought the ALAB hair mist from the earlier ad a while ago.
BEST ▶︎ N-lettering half-zip knit (SEMI OVER FIT)
In the meantime, the clothes Yeoreum wore had climbed to bestseller status. Aetami soothed her heart by buying the products Yeoreum advertised instead of sending support gifts.
[Han Yeoreum visits N flagship /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ store... “Looks perfect on her~” shower of praise]
[Han Yeoreum’s cute pose at the event, “Where should I look?” earns dad smiles...]
[Han Yeoreum becomes N brand’s new model—another sellout run for <Pi Chaewon sneakers>?]
She was scrolling through the flood of Yeoreum articles when—
“...Huh?”
Out of nowhere, a new headline caught her eye.
[Actress Han Yeoreum selected as MC for music program]
It was news that JC ENM was putting Yeoreum forward as an MC for a music show.
* * *
Let’s admit it. Director Jegal Rok is a genius.
“He connected it like this?”
Everything Director Jegal Rok said came rushing toward reality. Most of the works that had taken Chinese capital ended up practically destroyed.
I didn’t know the details—my connections didn’t reach that far—but I remembered how massive it had been.
—The average loss for those hits back then was around 6 billion won.
Myeong Jeha, on the other side of the screen, answered kindly.
I’d been baffled when the video call came out of nowhere, but somehow, Jeha had found out and relayed exactly what Jegal Rok had said.
‘Jegal Rok buying the rights to <Strange Tales>....’
Before the regression, JC ENM definitely hadn’t been the one to buy the rights and go into production. Could it be—just maybe....
‘Did he decide to buy it after watching my video?’
When it hit me that tens of billions could move because of me alone, the corners of my mouth lifted.
My chest swelled. I already felt like a big-time actor.
That was when Jeha’s voice came from beyond the screen.
—What are you thinking about, smiling like that?
“Looking at the best face does that to me. It suddenly feels like my phone resolution jumped to 4K.”
—Ha. Were you always this slick?
We still hadn’t talked about anything from before the regression.
I gratefully accepted the crumbs Jeha tossed my way, and Jeha, in turn, listened to my updates. That was it. Exactly that much.
—You know why Jegal Rok made you a music program MC, right?
“More or less.”
I could guess.
Right now, in Southeast Asia, K-POP had far more recognition than K-dramas. Viewers interested in Korean culture would watch music shows, and through that, they’d get used to seeing me.
Then, when <Strange Tales> was exported, it would have a positive effect.
—But you’re reacting pretty calmly?
Jeha’s additional explanation went beyond what I’d expected.
—K-POP fans who even watch music programs already have a certain level of purchasing power. So they’ll follow your SNS too. And that makes it look good to investors, doesn’t it? “This rookie actress Han Yeoreum has this many followers—why not invest in her next project?” Like that. A new market’s about to open, so no one’s going to stick to the old investment methods.
Uh.... That hadn’t even crossed my mind.
He was thinking of pulling in investment using my name? Jegal Rok?
—In reality, there are only a handful of actresses investors trust enough to put money behind... but if you can guarantee overseas purchasing power, it changes the conversation. That’s why idols are being cast more and more.
Jeha’s gentle voice made my heart pound. This wasn’t just for <Strange Tales>’ success.
—He’s trying to give you both roles—idol and actor. There are plenty of cases going from idol to actor, but the reverse is hard to find.... Looks like Jegal Rok wants to use a more iconic approach.
It went beyond the success of a single drama.
It meant JC ENM was going to cultivate Han Yeoreum far more aggressively. Only then did I understand the whole board, my mouth falling open.
—So now that I’ve explained it, since you get it... want to like it even more?
Even without Jeha’s prompting, I was already overflowing.
Still clutching my phone, I rolled around on the bed. Han Yeoreum. The thought of how far my name might spread made the world spin.
* * *
“This is insane.”
The news that Jegal Rok would produce <Strange Tales> while cutting off the Chinese export route spread rapidly in less than twenty-four hours.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say everyone in the industry had their eyes on Jegal Rok’s moves.
“A solo production of a fusion historical drama? I mean.... How do you even come up with something that crazy....”
“Blocking Chinese exports? Then the Ministry of Culture won’t support it, and even the Promotion Institute won’t provide production subsidies.”
That made quality the next problem. No one could deny that the more investment you had, the more you satisfied viewers’ eyes.
“So is this finally Jegal Rok’s first flop?”
“It was bound to happen once! Honestly, isn’t he a bit overrated? All that talk about innovation—wasn’t half of that made by Manager Ma? Let’s be real, what’s more important in this industry than marketing?”
“Hey—. That’s going too far. There’s a reason Jegal Rok is Jegal Rok.”
In the pantry, the first-floor station cafeteria, the company cafeteria, the editing room, the meeting room, the set—
from industry phone to industry phone.
That was how the story of Jegal Rok’s China export decision spread.
