Chapter 615

Time and wallets never lie. The numbers honestly reflected Han Yeoreum's growth.

Back when <Faster Than the Law 1> first premiered, JC ENM and the GCV marketing team had practically worked themselves to death.

They had to come up with popcorn package concepts, create the designs, collaborate with every franchise imaginable, and drag in anything that looked even remotely capable of going viral.

But with <Faster Than the Law 3>, their workload had practically been cut in half.

An unspoken rapport had already formed between the public and the franchise.

A familiar taste.

And on top of that, there was Han Yeoreum—the ultimate cheat code.

Over the years, people had developed unwavering faith that if Han Yeoreum was involved, it was guaranteed to be entertaining. And right before the release, <Seoul Metropolitan City> had exploded into a mega-hit.

Thanks to that trust and the relentless word of mouth, they were able to slash the advertising budget dramatically. Watching Han Yeoreum dominate public conversation without even needing a viral campaign, Manager Ma felt an indescribable swell of emotion.

"Yesterday's video absolutely nailed it."

[Issue Board / The Secret Behind the <Faster Than the Law 3> Post-Credit Scene. (Spoilers) .jpg]

[Today's TALK / Yun Hyeonjo Reveals Behind-the-Scenes Stories from the <Faster Than the Law> Series .jpg]

[Best Trending Post / The Unexpected Evolution of a Ten-Million-Viewer Film Franchise .jpg]

<First Ride Live> had a unique charm.

It felt like listening to sincere conversations people had in private.

The behind-the-scenes stories from <Faster Than the Law> perfectly matched what audiences had been craving.

It made viewers feel as though they'd been let in on secrets they were never supposed to know.

Combined with the rapport built over the years, it sent people's affection for the cast through the roof.

"Add stage greetings on top of this, and it's game over."

At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the endless stories and eyewitness accounts surrounding the daily <Faster Than the Law 3> stage greetings were all being created by Han Yeoreum.

Before anyone realized it, the JC ENM marketing team was no longer dragging Han Yeoreum along.

They were moving forward together.

While watching Yun Hyeonjo and Jun Cedric Valentian, who had also become more popular thanks to yesterday's <First Ride Live>, Manager Ma found himself thinking about Han Yeoreum's next project, <Code Name: Time Seven>.

"Jun Cedric Valentian is one thing, but even Yun Hyeonjo isn't exactly known for romance."

CrushedGarlic @0ni0n

(Han Yeoreum and Yun Hyeonjo buying ice cream together.mp4)

Someone please cast these two in PassType.

Retweets 8,871 Likes 21K

↳ Uncle Lovers Association, somebody please cast Yun Hyeonjo.

↳ Are these two ever going to do something together...? Ugh... they're driving me insane.

↳ Since when do uncles who absolutely adore baby girls stop being attractive?

Ppongdang @pppongdang___e

(Jun Cedric Valentian wiping water dripping from the Fresh Leaf Soju Han Yeoreum is holding.mp4)

A man who naturally takes care of a woman.

Nothing beats this.

Retweets 5,612 Likes 17K

↳ Let's pretend they met again as adults after being high school students.

↳ Ahn...///

↳ I've been waiting for these two to do a romance together ever since <ParCheHi>. Come on, just give us one kiss.

Han Yeoreum had that kind of presence.

Even when she did absolutely nothing, people still thought she looked perfect with everyone.

"She's just so adorable."

Manager Ma was already looking forward to <Code Name: Time Seven>.

She had continued making history over and over again.

It almost felt like she could even rescue the notorious romance jinxes and turn them into stars.

Because Han Yeoreum was a cheat code.

* * *

Despite getting only a few hours of sleep, Aetami didn't feel tired at all.

The moment she turned on her phone and saw Han Yeoreum's wallpaper, her heart swelled.

"How is our baby this adorable...?"

How could anyone even explain it?

Han Yeoreum had gone far beyond every expectation.

It was as if she had spent the entire night preparing for the stage greetings.

As if she'd predicted every possible question and held mock interviews.

As if she'd been waiting for this very day all her life.

As if she'd thought about nothing except stage greetings from morning until night.

She had done unbelievably well.

"...Whew... Of course, there's no way that's actually true..."

Even Aetami laughed awkwardly at how ridiculous her own thoughts sounded.

"She was just born adorable."

Every answer had completely melted her heart.

But that had to be something she was simply born with.

Anyway, Han Yeoreum answered every single question written on all the sketchbooks Aetami had prepared.

There had been moments when she'd thought Yeoreum wouldn't even notice them.

That turned out to be a complete miscalculation.

Yeoreum answered so many questions that Aetami actually ran out of prepared prompts much faster than expected, and by the end she was simply recording Yeoreum's reactions.

The results were incredible.

-seungwon_98 Best decision before the holiday.

-minji_0428 She's seriously so freaking cute...

-dfgewrtkyd @Kim Seonghwan I wanna go watch Faster Than the Law 3 stage greetings...

-haruharu4444 Good thing she didn't become an idol. She would've driven tens of thousands of women out onto the streets.

-junho.kim_92 Are stage greetings always like this? They actually look fun...

-etc.lasennne Holy shit, it's a three-hour video!!!!!

Short-form videos from Han Yeoreum's stage greetings completely took over Youstagram.

One clip surpassed five million views in only four days.

The follower count of @EveryDayIsSummer was growing faster than ever.

From ordinary viewers to hardcore drama fans, she'd captured them all.

'When I get home later, I'll hurry up and edit yesterday's <First Ride Live> shorts too.'

Having decided to attend every single stage greeting throughout the holiday, Aetami wished she had two bodies.

Yeoreum probably wished for even more.

After checking today's <Faster Than the Law 3> stage greeting schedule, Aetami let out a deep sigh.

'She's not going to collapse from this... right?'

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were relaying across all of Seoul.

Yeongdeungpo, Yongsan, Wangsimni, KOEX, Jamsil, Gangnam, Songpa...

If it was one of the major flagship theaters operated by the three big chains, they were going there.

'Today I'll skip bringing too many sketchbooks and focus more on getting interactions with the people around me. There are way too many people already.'

No matter how extraordinary Han Yeoreum was, there was no way she wasn't exhausted.

Aetami decided she'd save collecting more adorable Yeoreum moments for next week's metropolitan tour.

Then she entered the theater.

And froze.

'Yeoreum... why are you...?'

As always...

Han Yeoreum had exceeded everyone's expectations.

* * *

Whether people chose to stay home or travel somewhere far away for the holiday...

Anyone who came all the way to a movie theater in weather this cold deserved to have the favor returned.

Standing before the packed auditorium, I slowly turned my head as though making eye contact with every single person.

Not one seat was empty.

Camera shutters clicked endlessly from every direction.

Quite a few people had even brought gifts and letters for us.

"Hello. I'm Gong Mujin, the director of <Faster Than the Law 3>."

Then I spotted plenty of familiar faces.

Normally, I'd answer the questions written on the sketchbooks people had brought.

But not this time.

While Director Gong was greeting the audience, I raised the sheet of paper in my hand.

[Please choose how you're feeling right now.

1. Good.

2. Really good.]

Then I looked toward the left side of the theater.

The people whose eyes met mine immediately looked confused.

"...Us?"

"Me?"

"What does that even say?"

"It's asking how we feel."

A reverse fan service.

In huge theaters like this, there was no way to visit everyone individually.

So I figured it would be nice to create the feeling of communicating even from a distance.

People answered anyway.

Holding up two fingers in a V.

One.

Two.

Then I flipped the page.

It had been a delayed question all along.

[♥︎3. Super, super, super, really, really, really good.♥︎]

It was so blatantly obvious which answer I wanted them to choose.

The people who had just picked between 1 and 2 burst into laughter before changing their fingers to 3.

"Nghhhhh..."

"What is this...?"

It was exactly the reaction I'd hoped for.

While I responded with finger hearts, Yun Hyeonjo accepted the microphone from Director Gong and laughed.

We planned to do this reverse fan service in every theater.

Jun Cedric Valentian would do it in the next auditorium.

Then Yun Hyeonjo.

Then Kwak Cheolsik.

Even Director Gong.

Some people might leave disappointed because they couldn't get an autograph or a picture.

But if we played around with everyone together like this...

The effect would be enormous.

'Besides... I've always wanted to try this.'

It had been one of the recurring fantasies in Han Yeoreum's imagination factory.

The older sister who came every day carrying a sketchbook was staring at me with completely unfocused eyes as she filmed.

I accepted the microphone and finally greeted everyone.

"Hello. I'm Han Yeoreum, who plays Influ 1 in <Faster Than the Law>. You'll stay until after the post-credit scene, right?"

"Yessss—!"

"Thank you."

The section of the audience I'd just made eye contact with practically screamed their reply.

The enormous auditorium filled with excitement and happiness.

This was my favorite moment.

The moment I could truly feel the power of movies.

"Yeoreum!"

"Han Yeoreum!"

The instant my greeting ended, voices erupted from every direction as people begged for fan service.

Whether their faces were familiar or completely new, I took photos and signed as many things as I possibly could.

"Could you do this just once for me?"

"Ah, sure."

Some people asked me to do challenges they'd been waiting for.

Every time I entered another theater, I found myself brushing my bangs back several times.

"Pretty..."

Some people automatically played Influ 1's sound effect for me.

It had apparently become the official theme song by now.

The preview-stage greetings.

The closing-stage greetings.

Every one of them was fun.

Everyone was smiling.

"Kyaaaaaah!"

In another auditorium, Jun Cedric Valentian held up the same question board from earlier, and deafening screams erupted throughout the room.

My hands grew heavier with gifts as I continued taking pictures.

Yun Hyeonjo signed things at lightning speed.

Kwak Cheolsik always sprinted to the very back rows of the theater, delighting people who had never expected to receive any fan service.

Director Gong repeatedly bowed ninety degrees in gratitude.

"Everyone! We have to change clothes!"

"Huh?"

"We passed two million!"

At one o'clock in the afternoon on the fourth day after release...

<Faster Than the Law 3> surpassed two million admissions.

We hurriedly changed into the matching short-sleeved shirts we'd prepared and picked up the cake.

"Little Foal. Hurry, stand in the middle."

After lighting the candles, Kwak Cheolsik quickly pulled me into the center.

A white cake.

Number-shaped candles on top.

My body, burning hot despite the middle of winter after running around nonstop.

Everything made my heart pound.

"<Faster Than the Law 3>..."

"Thank you for two million admissions!"

Together, we blew out the candles.

Thin white smoke curled into the air.

"There's no time to eat this. Next stop!"

Yun Hyeonjo grabbed Kwak Cheolsik and immediately headed for the waiting room exit.

I set the cake down and hurried after them.

"Wait for me!"

"Hey. Don't run."

On the first day of the holiday...

More than 400,000 people visited movie theaters across the country.

It was unprecedented.

* * *

Jun Cedric Valentian felt like he had smiled more during these stage greetings than he had in his entire life.

No, not "felt like."

He definitely had.

Watching him, Han Yeoreum decided it was time to whip him into shape.

"First of all, whenever you see a sketchbook, react to it no matter what. And if it's too far away to read, just point to the last option."

"How am I supposed to answer if I don't even know what they're asking?"

"From what I've seen, whether it's a teasing question or a serious one, the answer they actually want is almost always the last option. If you read it from the beginning and answer normally, you won't get to see the look on their faces."

"Efficient~."

"Little Foal! You're smart!"

Director Gong, who took stomach medicine every time they made another round of theaters, nodded as he swallowed a mouthful of water.

He wholeheartedly agreed.

Following Han Yeoreum's advice, Jun Cedric Valentian answered even the sketchbook questions that were too far away to read.

The results were incredible.

"Hey! This is insane! Doesn't it feel like there are more and more sketchbooks?"

"About twice as many~."

"Hahaha! This is fun!"

To be honest, there were a lot of things Jun Cedric Valentian simply couldn't understand.

"Hey. Am I seeing things? What's going on? This is weird."

"What is?"

"I swear... I keep seeing people who look exactly like the ones from before... over and over again.... Is something wrong with my eyes...?"

He was certain he'd seen them before the movie started.

Then they were there again after another screening had ended.

Then they showed up again in the next auditorium.

Jun Cedric Valentian seriously doubted his own eyesight.

"They are the same people."

"What? They really are?"

"Judging by how they keep getting good seats, they probably got some of the tickets transferred to them. They just didn't post about it on Tr*tter."

"...How do you even know those people's accounts?"

"If you compare the stage greeting videos they upload with their seats, it's easy to figure it out. You don't even need to recognize their faces."

Han Yeoreum had never really understood it.

But this time, she understood it even less.

"So they don't even watch the movie? They just leave? Even after paying for it?"

"They came because they want to see something even more fun than the movie! That's why, even if you're exhausted, you've got to stay focused. Pretend you're flustered. Pretend you're embarrassed. And if you don't know how to answer something, just make a finger heart. Seriously, just do a finger heart."

Jun Cedric Valentian really gave it everything he had.

He worked so hard that, during every trip between theaters, he had to cover his face with both hands.

His cheeks were starting to cramp from smiling.

The more wilted Jun Cedric Valentian became, the happier his manager looked.

"Junseo! We'll hit three million tomorrow!"

"Yeah. I heard you. Shut up."

"<Faster Than the Law> really is amazing. Everyone around you covers for each other."

...

Neither Kwak Cheolsik nor Yun Hyeonjo had ever pulled rank over something so trivial.

They were already veterans at stage greetings and naturally carried the whole event, making things much easier for Jun Cedric Valentian.

Just as he was reflecting on that—

"The team chemistry is great too!"

...

"You know that <First Ride Live>? The one where Yun Hyeonjo and Yeoreum went to buy ice cream together? That thing completely exploded."

"What?"

He'd never heard about that.

Jun Cedric Valentian opened his eyes.

"You didn't know? Everyone's saying those two look incredible together.... I think Hyeonjo's finally secured himself a hardcore fanbase this time."

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

Jun Cedric Valentian picked up his phone.

He had only created an account because he'd seen Han Yeoreum using the app so diligently, but had never actually done anything with it.

Yet the video appeared right at the top of his feed.

The fact that it had even managed to invade the algorithm of someone who never used the app made it feel dangerous.

↳ Uncle Lovers Association, somebody please cast Yun Hyeonjo.

↳ Are these two ever going to do something together...? Ugh... they're driving me insane.

↳ Since when do uncles who absolutely adore baby girls stop being attractive?

...

Jun Cedric Valentian checked the number of likes.

Then he looked at the video immediately below it.

↳ Let's pretend they met again as adults after being high school students.

↳ Ahn...///

↳ I've been waiting for these two to do a romance together ever since <ParCheHi>. Come on, just give us one kiss.

It had fewer likes than Yun Hyeonjo's.

"...How the fuck is that even possible?"

Jun Cedric Valentian's eyes widened.

"What? What's wrong, Junseo? Honestly, someone like Hyeonjo is great. Since you've already gotten to know each other through the same project, you couldn't ask for a better senior. You two should stay close goi—"

"Ah! You're pissing me off, so just shut up already!"

After snapping at his manager, Jun Cedric Valentian climbed out of the van.

He was already irritated because of some middle-aged guy.

And when he arrived, Han Yeoreum was already deep in conversation with that very same man.

"What are you talking about?"

Jun Cedric Valentian walked straight over to Han Yeoreum.

By all rights, they should have been completely drained after going from theater to theater.

Yet Han Yeoreum still looked full of energy.

"The letter I got yesterday. He was the one who wrote it."

"What do you mean 'he'?"

Jun Cedric Valentian answered on instinct—

Only then realizing that the "middle-aged guy" in question was standing well within earshot.

"Hmm~."

The man looked at Jun Cedric Valentian with an unreadable expression.