Free Web NovelThe era of short-form content—and challenges along with it—is about to begin. It’s the timing when Tr*tter users surge upward instead of communities.
‘The number of users increases by almost ten times, exactly.’
If it catches even one RT, a short video becomes the perfect moment to get your face known.
“I need to build that fresh rookie image too, so like—when we have to follow choreography in the middle, Mr. Seo Eden will do about eighty percent of it for me. And if there’s anything where you think, ‘Wow, this choreography is really cute. It’d be easy to follow,’ just gather those up and throw them at me. Make me look cute.”
“...So earlier, were you pretending on purpose that you couldn’t do the choreography....”
“Yes. I’m an actress, but it’s not like I can’t use my body. I just want to focus on things that’ll look good when people capture my face.”
“And earlier, when you deliberately mentioned to me that you’d practiced too....”
“Let’s skip over trivial stuff like that. Even if I follow the choreography really well, I’m still not as good as Mr. Seo Eden. Anyway, you get it, right? We each take the part where we can shine in our own jobs. Selection and focus!”
Seo Eden made a face like, what on earth is this, but he still nodded diligently.
“Yes. Understood.”
“Yes, good. Let’s do well together from here on out, too.”
From far away, a staff member shouted.
“Live broadcast standby—one minute thirty seconds! Please get ready!”
As he started walking, Seo Eden asked me, just to confirm.
“Do you really not need to reorganize the cue cards one more time?”
I lightly shook the cards in my hand and replied.
“It’s fine.”
Actually, I’d been waiting for him to ask. I really wanted to say this answer.
“Because I memorized all the lines.”
Ah, Han Yeoreum. Even to me, that’s cool. Right—who am I? Seoul Drama Awards, Jury Special—.
“Live broadcast standby—one minute!”
We’re going. Let’s go.
* * *
Click— click—.
In a dark room with the lights off, slender fingers moved busily. No matter how many times the clicking repeated, at some point the post had sunk far down.
“...So annoying.”
Unlike the dim room, the bright monitor showed captures from today’s live MusicN broadcast. The post—137 recommendations, 88 comments—was barely clinging to the tail end of the Best list.
[ Nate Pann/ Best TalkTalk/ Today’s MusicN, Seo Eden stuttering.jpg ]
It’s a live broadcast—if he couldn’t memorize it, at least look at the cue card, lmaoo Just freezing up while staring into the camera—does that solve anything?T_T You could tell he’s been desperate to do solo activities even normally, but even when they spoon-feed him he still can’t do it, total turn-off
(Capture of Yeoreum naturally opening her mouth and saving the situation.jpg) frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Honestly, if it weren’t for Pi Chaewon, he wouldn’t even get buried
-Why is some clueless nobody acting up like this lololol Han Yeoreum herself said the cue card had an issue, right lololol (201 likes)
︎˪Where? I wanna see too T_T
︎˪(Seo Eden fan-account link) If you go in here it shows up right away—after the hosting ended, during the small talk time, Pi Chaewon looked toward the staff side and swapped her cue card with his
A post that didn’t make it to #1 was already spreading everywhere.
On overlapping internet tabs, posts with similar titles were being uploaded. And in every single one, the same photos were placed.
Seo Eden, flustered and nearly causing a broadcast accident. Han Yeoreum, contrasted against that incompetent Seo Eden.
“Ah, fuck....”
But the framing didn’t stick properly. There weren’t as many comments as expected.
-But it’s true he rides on Han Yeoreum, and people are being so extra—if she hadn’t swapped the cue card what would he have done? Someone memorizes the whole thing, someone else is just freeloading (113 likes)
︎˪What kind of logic is that lololol If he’d asked for a new cue card during stage they would’ve brought one
︎˪What if Han Yeoreum only memorized the front too? If she memorized everything, she could’ve done it without looking at the cue card, but she looked at it after that lololol Just because only a few cards in front were wrong—look at the way people make a fuss, seriously. It’s so obvious who your fave is LOOOLL When did Eden bet his life on solo activities? It’s just that lots of places call him
Other than a few hate comments, most were comments correcting that the cue card really had an issue, and comments mocking the original poster.
-People who can’t get their own life together always tear down other people’s lives lolol Seo Eden and Han Yeoreum are both working hard, geez. Mentally ill much~! TT_TT
[Do you want to report this?]
They pressed the button and reported the comment, but it wasn’t deleted easily.
The hand that had been moving busily until just now drifted to the mouth. A dissatisfied mouth chewed hard at the edge of a fingernail and muttered.
“It would’ve been better if it were the other way around....”
If it had been incompetent Han Yeoreum and Seo Eden working hard alone, the comment reaction would’ve burned hotter—thinking that made it feel even more disappointing.
“Next week, I’ll make it ‘Han Yeoreum pretending to be close to Seo Eden’.... I’ve gotta grab at least one thing.”
The owner of the dark shadow wasn’t even a fan of Han Yeoreum. The truth was visible: they just wanted either of the two to get hated.
The shadow scrolled down, staring at Han Yeoreum’s face—then, when footsteps were heard, they closed all the internet windows.
A moment later, the door burst open.
“What is this room! I told you to keep the lights on—you’ll ruin your eyes!”
“Ah, Mom—. I told you to knock.”
“What knock? Eat an apple. You’re watching dramas again? Don’t binge them all in one day—take it slow and rest in between.”
“Okay.”
Click—.
When Mom turned the lights on as she left, the room that hadn’t held any light became bright in an instant. On the desk, on the door, on the wall, on the laptop background.
Do Gyeoul was everywhere.
“When is Gyeoul’s drama coming out, I wonder....”
A humming, murmured voice lingered around the room.
Soon, the crisp sound of biting into an apple rang out pleasantly. It was a peaceful daily life—nothing like someone who’d been writing gloomy posts.
* * *
Jegal Rok monitored today’s Han Yeoreum. No excess, nothing to pick at, and in a word—
“She’s usable.”
As expected, his judgment had never been wrong. No matter what the attempt was. Once again, he thought it was the right decision to bring Han Yeoreum back to JC ENM.
‘She handles sudden situations naturally.’
Jegal Rok had already been informed of the fact that there was no problem at all with the cue cards. From beginning to end, it was a play Han Yeoreum had staged.
Maybe because she was an actress—she knew how to set up a situation excellently.
‘And it’s fine that she doesn’t toss out bait for controversy.’
If she had read without looking at the cue cards at all, just to show she’d memorized everything, Seo Eden’s attitude would’ve been shoved into the center of controversy.
When one side is overly competent, the other side looks relatively more incompetent.
But Han Yeoreum had staged it so that it looked like Seo Eden was at no fault at all. It wasn’t the posture of a rookie who wasn’t used to emergencies and wanted even a little more to stand out.
Click—.
Looking through the materials Manager Ma had handed over, Jegal Rok clicked the next file.
It contained the final conditions each broadcasting company had delivered regarding the broadcast rights for <Strange Tales>. Skimming the neatly organized file, Jegal Rok reached a conclusion.
‘All of them make me question their IQ.’
Saying they wouldn’t take Chinese investment was no different from saying they’d also let go of exporting to China. It was a condition that made it easy to get on the bad side of Chinese investors.
Including MBS, the terrestrial networks took a passive stance. He’d wondered, but as expected, things flowed exactly as anticipated.
In the middle of that, Jegal Rok chose the broadcaster that would air <Strange Tales>.
Input: There will be no further coordination with other broadcasters. Tell them the contract has fallen through.
Jegal Rok finished choosing without any need to deliberate further.
The choice was TVM. Jegal Rok, who had been going to choose a terrestrial network for Han Yeoreum’s mass appeal, ultimately decided to air <Strange Tales> on the cable channel operated by JC ENM.
‘It might actually be a more rational choice.’
Unlike terrestrial networks, cable tended to have lighter regulation from the Korea Communications Commission. Given the nature of the subject—ghost stories—choosing cable might allow Director Jang’s trendiness to be drawn out properly.
Input: The male lead has also been decided. Contact that celebrity’s agency by tomorrow morning.
Jegal Rok was the kind of person who didn’t let his brain rest. In his mind, spread densely like a spiderweb, countless options were erased, and the ones he’d placed as candidates sharpened into clarity.
Input: Kwon Junhyeok.
A sixth-year idol. High overseas fan demand. A low voice. Dark skin that looked good, monolids. Even a scar near the eyebrow.
It was the optimal choice for becoming the death-courier Naeuri of <Strange Tales>.
