Chapter 616

“...Hello.”

“Yeah.”

Yun Hyeonjo patted Joo Junseo on the shoulder as he walked past him.

“Good luck out there~.”

He had no idea why, but it rubbed him the wrong way.

At some point, had he started becoming more like Han Yeoreum?

He didn't want to lose to that old man in terms of buzz.

He narrowed his eyes with determination.

“If I met someone like you right now, I'd say yes in a heartbeat.”

“Huh? What's that supposed to mean...?”

“Just! Just say that one line.”

“If I met someone like you right now...”

“I'd hit the jackpot.”

“...Why?”

Joo Junseo had to keep repeating lines he didn't understand.

Incidentally, this was the line people requested the most.

Eventually, he stopped asking why.

“Oppa, am I making you uncomfortable? Won't you say it?”

Because there were simply too many requests.

‘What is this one supposed to be now...?’

Still, Joo Junseo did exactly as he was told.

“The dating fee was due today. Why haven't you paid it? Please say it....”

He honestly didn't understand a single thing, but he answered diligently anyway.

“Senior. Talk to me.”

“...What.”

It happened while they were moving between theaters and had a brief break.

During the lunch hour they'd intentionally left open for a quick meal, Han Yeoreum called Joo Junseo over.

He smoothed the corners of his lips and followed her outside.

“Working hard is great, but you've got to do it well.... When someone makes a request, you should at least pretend to be flustered, or surprised, or... I don't know, at least look like you're used to it. You can't just do exactly what they tell you every single time. How are you supposed to make someone who came once come back twice? Or someone who's come twice come back a third time?”

“...”

And then she tore into him.

“Still, it's only the first week of stage greetings, so your awkwardness is kind of cute, so I'll let it slide for now. From here on, though, you should approach every person with the mindset of making them watch the movie ten times.”

“...Hey, you....”

He was just about to say, Is that really all you've got to say to me?

Then Yun Hyeonjo came walking over carrying his toothbrush kit.

Apparently he'd already finished eating while Junseo had been getting lectured.

“Giving him a scolding~?”

“That makes it sound harsher than it is. Let's call it a strategy meeting.”

The older man looked back and forth between Han Yeoreum and Joo Junseo before nodding as if he understood everything.

“Nothing to say to me?”

“Well, you're an experienced professional, senior.”

“Still~.”

Joo Junseo desperately wanted him to leave already.

“If I had to say something... you adjusted yourself plenty in the beginning, so I think it'd actually work better if you just acted like your usual self from now on, senior. After monitoring the reactions, I can see the pattern.”

Joo Junseo was dumbfounded by the blatant favoritism.

‘She drags me over here to tell me to do better, but tells him to just keep being himself?’

Just wait.

That's what he wanted to say.

He swore he'd outperform that old man no matter what.

“If I met someone my age, I'd say yes in a heartbeat...”

The same request came up again at the next theater.

But the current Joo Junseo was different from before.

Because now he understood what they wanted.

This time, he delivered it like an actual line from a drama.

The reaction was immediate.

Cameras pointed at him from every direction, while women around him beamed with delight.

“Is this some kind of trend? Everyone keeps asking for that.”

Then he heard the old man's voice nearby.

“Huh? Yeah....”

“Then I guess I shouldn't do it.”

Yun Hyeonjo, who had happily gone along with fans' requests until recently, suddenly changed course.

“You should date someone your own age.”

Joo Junseo realized something was going terribly wrong.

“What's so great about saying something like that?”

The old man had just knocked it clean out of the park.

Rosydu @rosydwuuuu

(Screenshot of Faster Than the Law 3 stage greeting ticket transfer post)

Best purchase of the year, holy shit.

Reposts: 121 Likes: 202

Rosydu @rosydwuuuu

(Yun Hyeonjo "You should date someone your own age".mp4)

That stable older-man energy has turned me into an insane woman.

Reposts: 8,812 Likes: 28K

Yun Hyeonjo had completely taken over Tr*tter.

* * *

Maeng Byeonggwan worked just as hard even during Lunar New Year.

Han Yeoreum really is an amazing actress. It's one thing for a drama director, but for a film director to rewrite the script for a supporting character? That's not something you see often. Her talent clearly isn't up for debate anymore.

“What kind of bullshit is that?! People who don't know the first thing about movies sure love writing comments.”

Acting as a true journalist, Maeng Byeonggwan left what he considered the proper reply.

If it were Namgung Cheon or Eom Gyun, they never would've rewritten it lol. It's only because it's Gong Mujin, who has no backbone. How can you even call the lowest-tier entertainment-film director a real film director?

But people immediately started replying to Maeng Byeonggwan.

Stop talking crap. Gong Mujin doesn't have a single box office flopㅡㅡ If you knew anything about movies, you wouldn't be name-dropping Namgung Cheon and Eom Gyun.

There are tons of Chungmuro directors who aren't even half as good as Gong Mujin LOLOLOL

Even Ja Sokhwan said her analysis of Huijae was incredible during <The Great Garland>. If someone like him acknowledges Han Yeoreum's near-psychopathic level of character analysis, who the hell are you? Seriously, what are you even?

“What a bunch of idiots.”

Maeng Byeonggwan sneered at everyone defending Han Yeoreum.

Posted:

Who exactly doesn't know movies here? Anyone who's been around this industry even a little knows nobody calls Gong Mujin a real film director.

The fact that cheap commercial films were polluting Chungmuro was already irritating enough.

Now a low-tier actress like Han Yeoreum was rising through the ranks as well.

It made him sick.

“Tch. This is so damn annoying....”

As soon as the latest episode of <First Car Live> went up, Maeng Byeonggwan checked the article he'd published.

The view count was climbing smoothly.

[Exclusive] “Of All Times...” Han Yeoreum of <Faster Than the Law 3> Sparks Concern After Posting ‘Malatang Mukbang’ During Lunar New Year

-Actress uploads video of herself eating the Chinese dish malatang on social media just before the nation's biggest holiday.

-“Malatang instead of rice cake soup?” Public outraged over what many call a shocking lack of historical awareness.

-Amid ongoing cultural appropriation controversies, criticism grows that the actress lacks even the minimum national awareness expected of a celebrity.

Han Yeoreum, currently leading the Lunar New Year box office with the irreplaceable blockbuster <Faster Than the Law 3>, has unexpectedly found herself at the center of controversy over her “lack of historical awareness” just before the holiday... (excerpt omitted)

Maeng Byeonggwan wasn't an ordinary reporter.

Once he targeted a celebrity, he wouldn't stop until they'd been brought to their knees.

His pen was sharper than any blade.

“I was the one who made that superstar Ham Yeorin cry at a press conference.”

Besides, Han Yeoreum was the perfect target.

A successful actress in her twenties signed to a major corporation.

Eat too little.

Eat too much.

Smile too much.

Don't smile enough.

Talk too much.

Talk too little.

Film too many commercials.

Have too many schedules.

Be too carefree.

Be too quiet.

Be close to coworkers.

Don't be close enough.

Dress well.

Dress poorly.

Promote your project too much.

Don't promote it enough.

As long as he found a single angle and threw it to the public, they'd happily tear her apart.

How many celebrities had realized exactly where they stood after becoming the center of one of Maeng Byeonggwan's scandals?

“So why the hell does she keep slipping through my fingers?”

He'd already failed several times to humble Han Yeoreum, and it was driving him mad.

At this rate, the movie needed to flop.

But instead, it was attracting audiences day after day, making even his rage bait ineffective.

“This Lunar New Year, one entertaining blockbuster has completely taken over theaters and blown away the frustrations of everyday life. Korean film <Faster Than the Law 3>, which opened last Wednesday, has surpassed 3.5 million moviegoers on just its fifth day of release. After struggling due to rising ticket prices, theaters are finally experiencing an explosive box office revival.”

“Damn it!”

The television happened to be reporting on <Faster Than the Law 3>.

Moviegoers interviewed outside the theater were all smiles.

Lee Hyeoncheol (66)

“We came as a family for the holiday, and we laughed so much we didn't even have time to eat our popcorn. It was so refreshing and fun that the ticket price felt completely worth it.”

“The actors' nonstop stage greetings throughout the holiday, combined with powerful word of mouth, have fueled the film's phenomenal success. Our Culture Desk reporter visited the scene.”

Han Yeoreum appeared on the screen enthusiastically greeting audiences.

Maeng Byeonggwan's face twisted.

“What station is this? KBC? Those idiots. So Han Yeoreum's next project is with them, huh?”

It was a pathetic broadcaster that couldn't even uphold the basics of journalism.

Unable to stand looking at Han Yeoreum's face any longer, Maeng Byeonggwan turned off the TV and looked back at his laptop.

“...Huh?”

Then he noticed a newly trending topic.

He clenched his teeth.

“What is it this time? How is she this lucky?”

The world had just handed <Faster Than the Law 3> the perfect opportunity to explode even further.

It was the very definition of when someone's destined to succeed, everything goes their way.

[Move Over, Yousta... Intube Launches ‘Shorts’ Tomorrow Morning to Capture User Watch Time]

[One-Minute Videos Come to Intube—‘Shorts’ Challenge Yousta ‘Rolls’]

Short scenes that instantly sparked curiosity.

Videos people would continue watching almost unconsciously.

A thumbnail alone was enough to make people click.

And Han Yeoreum was the perfect face for it.

“Aren't they going to upload all the stage greeting videos now?! Damn!”

Maeng Byeonggwan's rage bait didn't even survive three days.

Even people who had been reading news articles abandoned them and rushed toward the ocean that was Intube Shorts.

* * *

Jegal Rok quietly watched the Intube market.

Roughly two to 2.3 billion monthly users.

Around thirty percent of the world's population.

Over one billion hours of watch time every single day generated by videos between ten and thirty minutes long.

Now imagine adding the already-proven short-form format.

That billion hours could easily double.

Short-form content.

If a video didn't require deep understanding and could be consumed almost unconsciously, then Han Yeoreum was unbeatable.

Her overwhelming presence, impossible to ignore even on a giant movie screen, compressed into under a minute—

People would fall for her before they even realized it.

Bzzz—

[Director, we've begun uploading immediately.]

Looking at the message appearing at the bottom of his monitor, Jegal Rok folded his arms.

The moment Yousta pioneered the Rolls market, JC ENM had already prepared everything.

Vertical videos.

Clips under one minute.

[HOT / The State of JC ENM's Channel the Moment Shorts Opened.jpg]

(Screenshot of JC ENM Intube channel)

They've been charging up a Spirit Bomb waiting for this holy shit.

(View count screenshot)

The Faster Than the Law 3 “Thank You for 3 Million Viewers” clip hit one million views in just an hour LMAO

(Current number of Shorts uploaded by JC ENM)

Looks like they're gonna upload all day long.

-Anonymous 1: LOL they're insanely prepared. At this point it feels like they knew in advance.

-Anonymous 4: Even TV stations are uploading, but JC is on a completely different level.

-Anonymous 9: The Faster Than the Law stage greeting clips are exploding too LMAO

Anonymous 12: I've completely fallen in love with Yun Hyeonjo holy shit T_T I seriously want to marry him...

Anonymous 24: Wait what?? All those numbers are from videos uploaded today?

Anonymous 29: Yup lolol all uploaded today.

-Anonymous 41: I was depressed because the holiday's ending, but this is awesome hehe

Besides the videos they'd already posted on Yousta, there were also Shorts they'd specifically saved for Intube.

Easy to enjoy.

Easy to notice.

Quick, explosive hooks.

That was JC ENM's specialty.

INTUBE

[Back Then... <The Great Garland> When It Appeared on the News]

[The Legendary Episode 1 Hook Everyone Agrees On]

[The Couple That Filled Psychiatric Hospitals Across Korea]

[The Web Drama That Made You Cringe Yet Somehow Couldn't Stop Watching]

[Geum Bitgang's Acting That Almost Made People Wet Themselves in Real Time]

If you were good at reverse viral marketing, it simply meant you were even better at regular viral marketing.

To identify negative talking points accurately, you first had to understand positive ones even better.

Manager Hong from the PR team had already planted material across every major drama-focused channel.

And in this brand-new ocean that would not only create a massive boom but increase the average user's Intube watch time by at least an hour...

LOL that news story really was on fire back then.

I never expected it to die down the very next day... I still remember getting furious over the "Joseon scum" remark~^^

Ja Sokhwan still looks completely insane. Seriously, where did he get the guts to pull that off? LOLLLL

So many people used to sprint home just to watch <The Great Garland> hehe The last golden age of Korean dramas... Dorido~! We probably won't ever get another national drama like that these days.

It all started with Han Yeoreum.

People who saw her face in the thumbnail found themselves unconsciously reminiscing about the dramas they'd once loved.

Then, after watching the Han Yeoreum Shorts prepared by JC ENM, the algorithm served them stage greeting videos from <Faster Than the Law 3>.

By next month, not only the Intube channels she'd appeared on, but entire dramas featuring Han Yeoreum would almost certainly be repackaged into Shorts and spread everywhere.

The perfect conditions for guaranteed views and guaranteed comments.

In a game fought over subscribers, only an idiot would choose not to play the unbeatable card known as Han Yeoreum.

Posted:

For the time being, we will not take down any channels for copyright violations.

JC ENM had even decided to temporarily leave every Han Yeoreum-related clip completely unrestricted.