Free Web Novel“Heh heh heh.... Heh heh heh heh.”
And here, in the MBS office, there was a man smiling contentedly as if news like that didn’t concern him in the slightest. On the screen in front of him, the following words were displayed.
[Trending Videos]
On the screen he was gazing at with satisfaction was Han Yeoreum. One of the five-episode installments of <No Interest Whatsoever> had finally settled into the trending list. Even if it was near the bottom, for the head of MBS’s Drama Center, it was more than enough to feel proud.
—You guys HAVE to watch this till the ending TT_TT LOLOLOL honestly it’s a shame it’s only a one-episode drama
—A masterpiece for the first time in a while..^^ I used to watch one-act dramas faithfully back in my youth too. Makes you think, yeah, MBS really is different.... Like Mom’s home-cooked meals. Really enjoyed it
︎˪Your expressiveness is so good. Thumbs up~~
︎—After watching all those romance-then-makjang dramas, this really hits different lolol I hope there are more one-act dramas going forward
Riding this momentum, they were planning to upload all the previous one-act dramas as clips as well.
“Why didn’t I think of this sooner!”
They couldn’t keep waiting forever for viewers to come looking for dramas on the official homepage. This was a world where, with just a few scrolls on Intube, countless new dramas appeared.
‘Even if the quality is far lower.’
It was free, you could enjoy interacting with other viewers through comments, and above all, it was convenient.
“We can just follow along, JC ENM.”
Having organized a web content department to follow JC ENM’s lead, the Drama Center head became convinced that soon every broadcasting station would start taking the Intube market seriously.
Bzzz—.
That was when his phone vibrated.
[So Yesol: Director, we made it into the final judging round at the Seoul Drama Awards!]
“......”
The director’s mouth fell open for a moment. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
The URL So Yesol sent was real. At the Seoul Press Center journalists’ briefing, <No Interest Whatsoever> was mentioned as a finalist.
“Out of 267 submissions from 51 countries...?”
It was the largest number of submissions ever. The competition was correspondingly fierce. And yet, only 28 works made it into the final round—and <No Interest Whatsoever> had claimed one of those slots.
“Heh.... Well, I’ll be damned.”
The director thought of Han Yeoreum.
A twenty-year-old rookie actress who had only revealed herself to the public barely half a year ago.
A debut work that had stubbornly hit ten million views on Intube.
Unmistakable mass appeal that turned any product # Nоvеlight # bearing her name into a bestseller.
A one-act drama that, despite being a stopgap, earned praise as a solid work with a 3.7% viewership rating.
“This is getting interesting....”
Even without being backed by an agency, the achievements she’d pulled off alone were dazzling. He couldn’t help but look forward to how far Han Yeoreum would climb with JC ENM behind her.
Input: So when’s the awards ceremony again?
Next month, on the 8th. Interest began to gather around whether Han Yeoreum would take home an award at the Seoul Drama Awards.
* * *
“Han Yeoreum—!”
“Dami-dami—!”
We hugged each other in greeting in front of the school. To anyone else, it might’ve looked excessive, but it couldn’t be helped.
“How were you busy all vacation long?!”
“Sorry. I really was busy.”
Between filming a one-act drama, shooting a movie, stamping contracts, and constantly running off to film something, I hadn’t had a moment to breathe. As I entered the lecture hall, my classmates gathered around me, talking all at once.
“Oh—celebrity—!”
“I saw that. Your one-act drama made it to the Drama Awards!”
A life where everyone pays attention to me. Thrilling. This is what it’s like to be a celebrity...!
“Hi, Gyeoul.”
Ah.
Let’s enjoy it a bit, okay? Let’s savor the taste of being a celebrity.
I turned my body toward Dami, pretending not to hear, just to avoid meeting Do Gyeoul’s eyes.
Tap tap—.
The sound of someone knocking on a desk was unusually crisp. When I turned my head—
“Yeoreum, I’m going to sit next to you.”
Do Gyeoul was there.
“...Next to me? Dami’s here though?”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if Dami moved a bit?”
No, what kind of logic is that?
I was so flustered I couldn’t even speak, unable to understand why she was acting like this, when—
“I have something to talk about for work, Dami.”
Her gentle voice carried an order. Dami had already stood up and moved seats.
‘Dami.... Don’t go....’
“Thanks.”
After giving Dami a small nod, Do Gyeoul calmly sat down next to me.
Instinctively, the left side of my body stiffened. Even when I tried to suppress it, the rejection I couldn’t control crawled up the back of my neck.
Despite saying she had something to talk about for work, Do Gyeoul didn’t say a single word to me.
Not even until the lecture started.
* * *
‘So this is what her face looks like when she’s nervous.’
Gyeoul leisurely observed Yeoreum sitting beside her. She didn’t know why, but from the very first meeting, it had been obvious that Yeoreum was trying to keep her distance.
‘Why is that.... It’s interesting, though.’
Gyeoul had honed her instincts on set since childhood. She understood the clearly drawn world of haves and have-nots better than anyone.
Most people in the “have” position showed affection toward Gyeoul, while those in the “have-not” position found her unpleasant.
“Isn’t she too young to be acting like that? Treating the older extras like nothing, only talking to the lead actors.”
“Did you see how she thanks the director every break? She’s sly. Really sly.”
Dislike usually stemmed from inferiority, so it was understandable. No matter how hard they tried, they could never live Do Gyeoul’s life—so they couldn’t even land a blow.
‘But why Han Yeoreum?’
Gyeoul examined Yeoreum’s hands resting on the table. To memorize every expression and gesture she made when nervous. Her small, pale hands were clenched into fists.
‘She barely even has an unknown period.’
Yeoreum wasn’t on the same level as her, but it wasn’t enough to provoke this kind of inferiority. It wasn’t unpleasant—just puzzling.
Gyeoul began writing letters in the corner of her notebook.
Tap tap—.
Then she lightly knocked on the desk, as if telling her to look.
Did I mention your name when I did that interview last time? :)
Yeoreum’s expression changed slightly.
‘This is the face people make when someone they dislike suddenly acts friendly for no clear reason.... I should memorize that too.’
Even if she couldn’t fully understand what emotions others were feeling, nonverbal behavior—fleeting expressions and gestures—was easy to memorize. Piece by piece, those memorized fragments had made Do Gyeoul who she was now.
And that was why she needed Han Yeoreum.
‘Because I’m about to take on a role that’s on a completely different scale from child actors.’
Scripts that revolved around child actors were almost nonexistent in both film and television. At best, they were just one of the supporting roles.
Playing the protagonist’s younger self, or someone’s little sister, someone’s daughter—never with an independent narrative of their own.
‘I want to do it properly.’
That was why Do Gyeoul had never even considered the possibility that her acting gaps would be exposed.
Being a lead, but not truly a lead—that was what child actors were.
This was her first project since critic Sunwoo Seonuk’s review. And on top of that, her first lead role.
But it didn’t make the news T_T why did they leave it out.... Next time I’ll make sure to ask them to include you too, Yeoreum♥︎
Yeoreum’s brow creased faintly. Gyeoul memorized that too.
‘She’s sharper than I thought.’
She seemed to immediately understand what it meant—that no one was curious about the story of a rookie like her yet.
The gaze that had lingered on the words slowly lifted. Gyeoul looked at Yeoreum and smiled softly.
‘What if I poke a little more....’
Would she get angry? Or would she start crying instead? Would she even stand up and leave in the middle of the lecture?
Just as curiosity began to rise—
