Chapter 636

Anyone overhearing us would think Hollywood was right around the corner from his house.

“Skipping all the steps in between?”

“There are plenty of projects that could get you to America. And <Seoul Metropolitan City> happened to do well.”

I thought about it for a moment. If it was Myeong Jeha, he might even be able to land a role in Eastwood’s film.

Or maybe it would be some other director’s massive blockbuster. He might even get into one of D-sney’s superhero movies or fantasy films.

Myeong Jeha stared intently at me. There was a certain unspoken demand in the gaze looking down at me.

Faced with eyes that seemed to be urging me to say yes, I shook my head.

“...No. I’m not going yet.”

But I want to win it for myself.

With projects that never existed before and roles that never existed before coming to me, I don’t want to go to Hollywood.

Because those are the projects I created for myself.

“Why?”

“Seriously. Back in the day, you were all, ‘Replacing the lead is nothing.’”

When I dragged up that old memory, Myeong Jeha burst out laughing. His expression plainly said I was unbelievable.

“You think it’s funny? Reflect on yourself.”

“Yeah. I will.... Haha.”

After meeting each other’s eyes for a moment, Myeong Jeha and I looked toward the same place. The New York nightscape glittered brilliantly.

“Eom Gyun has a nasty personality. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’ll be fine. There are other people too.”

“Hmm, I don’t really like Ji Haebeom either.”

“Why? He’s nice aside from occasionally playing weird pranks.”

“What’s so nice about him?”

“...Why are you suddenly looking so serious...?”

Before I knew it, midnight was approaching. The sound announcing twelve o’clock rang out. The DJ mixed the chimes into the music.

“Anyway, wait for me. I’ll come.”

“Hurry up. I’m bored.”

“You don’t even have to rush me. Later, I’ll be getting cast left and right, huh? Who knows? Maybe I’ll become top-billed and get you a role through connections?”

“Me? Hahahaha.”

You really didn’t have to laugh that hard.... I smacked Myeong Jeha on the shoulder and left the balcony.

Myeong Jeha, following behind me, glanced at the tray of a server who happened to be nearby.

“Yeoreum, can you give me some chocolate?”

“Do you not have hands? Or feet?”

“You’ve changed....”

“Ah, what do you mean I’ve changed!”

“The only thing that hasn’t changed is you raiding catering trucks for food. Everything else has changed....”

I casually handed him one of the chocolates sitting on the tray. Myeong Jeha accepted it with a smile.

Then he carefully brought the tiny piece of chocolate to his lips.

I picked up a chocolate myself and ate it to settle the intoxication that was suddenly rushing over me.

‘Food really does taste different at expensive places.’

I should buy some chocolate to take home. I’d get plenty so I could hand some out to the <Code Name: Time Seven> team too.

And once I got there, I would tell them.

Let’s come to America with this project.

Because America was even more interesting, exciting, and exhilarating than I’d imagined.

Still, from now on, I should probably control how much champagne I drank at parties.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Korea.

[Drama & Film Actors TALK/ Wow, Han Yeoreum’s local reception is insane]

More people joined her TinTok Live than Vanessa’s lolololol

(Screenshot of Vanessa’s TinTok Live.jpg)

(Screenshot of Selena’s TinTok Live.jpg)

-Anonymous 1: Huh what is this, is this actually real??

?OP: Yeah yeah yeah yeah it’s real

-Anonymous 5: Who’s that Selena person? This is crazy

?Anonymous 8: She’s an American TinTok star, you can basically think of her as almost celebrity-tier lol. An influencer American teenagers love

[Drama & Film Actors TALK/ All of Han Yeoreum’s American photos look photoshopped because I seriously can’t believe them]

(Screenshot of Han Yeoreum greeting singer-songwriter Jade.jpg)

(Screenshot of Han Yeoreum talking with fantasy-series actor Kiernan.jpg)

(Screenshot of Billboard TOP 10 pop star Riley hugging Han Yeoreum.jpg)

(Screenshot of Han Yeoreum sitting next to LMVH chairman Erno.jpg)

Fuck what even is this seriously lolololol it feels like some messed-up dream, I can’t believe it...

(Han Yeoreum with dumpling buns at Auntie Wang’s Webfoot Octopus.jpg)

Yeoreum weren’t you this kind of kid

-Anonymous 1: Ah fuck lololololololol you wrote this whole post just because you wanted to use the last pic, didn’t you

?OP: lol^^no no Yeoreum it’s absolutely not that so don’t misunderstand me

-Anonymous 5: What’s actually fucking insane is Han Yeoreum has been to America exactly twice, and one time she was invited to the Little Oscars and the other time the head of LMVH invited her over to give her a necklace;;

?Anonymous 8: Why the hell is this actually real

?Anonymous 11: Where did all those rank-obsessed idiots who kept muttering that Han Yeoreum wasn’t on that level go lololololol this is fucking hilarious

?Anonymous 14: They’re currently living in America again and getting ready in advance to make a post at dawn saying the local response isn’t actually that big and everyone needs to stop exaggerating

?Anonymous 16: Fuck..

Having more viewers on her TinTok Live than Vanessa, an American celebrity who was also well known among Koreans, was the clearest possible proof that Han Yeoreum was making an impact locally too.

And more importantly, Han Yeoreum had dropped a bombshell on the livestream.

[HOT / Han Yeoreum literally lived up to her name and was a T-fany Princess today.jpg]

(Han Yeoreum sitting with Erno at the M Jacobs show.jpg)

(Close-up shot showing the jewelry in greater detail.jpg)

(New York Fashion Week after-party.jpg)

(Screenshot of the moment she says on Selena’s TinTok Live that Erno gave it to her as a gift.jpg)

At Fashion Week it was a 7-billion-won pink diamond and at the after-party Grandpa Erno gave her a gift

-Anonymous 1: I’m so fucking jealous of her life, this is insane TT___TT

-Anonymous 5: So many people have been subtly looking down on her because she wasn’t a luxury-brand ambassador, this feels so satisfying lol

?Anonymous 19: 2222 I can already see them clenching their mouths shut and seething

?Anonymous 33: 33333 Ah this is fucking hilarious lololololol what are they even going to say now that the chairman himself showed up

-Anonymous 54: What’s with the first pic..? I saw Myeong Jeha’s face and was so shocked I couldn’t process anything else

?Anonymous 87: fr so that’s what bringing glory to the nation looks like

-Anonymous 101: Ha.. can I even say this.. Myeong Jeha and Han Yeoreum look fucking good together

?Anonymous 113: I thought the same thing, why is the way that man looks at her like that TT_TT

?Anonymous 144: Taeseok-Huijae is real

?Anonymous 162: You delusional shippers are fucking insane, seriously tone it down lolol Myeong Jeha always looks at people like that

Han Yeoreum’s American schedule had practically been broadcast live back to Korea from the very first day, but the sheer amount of buzz surrounding her final day was on another level.

The appearance of the head of LMVH, a diamond worth around seven billion won, Hollywood celebrities, and Erno’s gift.

And on top of all that, high-resolution photographs that made everything immediately feel real.

StocksAreForFunOnly @janaeg0tongjangssibal

(Screenshots from Han Yeoreum’s American schedule.jpg)

Han Yeoreum lately, looking like she’s having the fucking time of her life

Retreats 11K Likes 32K

?Kim Somebody @Kimanydog

(Please switch lives with me.mp4)

Retreats 21K Likes 28K

Every photograph Dok Gomin uploaded to her story sent ripples across social media.

The quality made them look like an entire pictorial shot with Han Yeoreum as its sole subject. Enough to make the people looking at them feel vicarious satisfaction.

Koreans following Han Yeoreum’s American schedule in real time began watching <Seoul Metropolitan City> all over again.

[<Faster Than the Law 3> Isn’t Finished Yet... “Weekend Block Bookings” Continue to Surge]

[Box-Office Craze Sparked by Han Yeoreum’s Trip to America? <Faster Than the Law 3> Keeps Theaters Packed as Reservation Rate Refuses to Fall]

[Beyond Triple Ten Million—Could It Really Break 15 Million? <Faster Than the Law 3> Soars on Han Yeoreum’s Back~]

And that wasn’t all. The reservation rate for <Faster Than the Law 3>, which had just begun to taper off, started climbing rapidly again.

Social media, online communities, portal sites, even the main nine o’clock news.

-The Netholics original series <Seoul Metropolitan City>, which created a worldwide phenomenon after reaching No. 1 on the global OTT rankings, has once again shaken New York.

Han Yeoreum’s face, adorned with a diamond worth around seven billion won, appeared on the screen of a terrestrial network’s main news broadcast.

Even though new media was steadily overtaking it, this was still an era when the power of legacy media remained formidable.

In restaurants, in bars, in living rooms, and on the phone screens of people on the move.

“How much did they say that thing costs?”

“Holy shit... seven billion won...?”

“I’m telling you, Korean dramas really are becoming popular all over the world now. What do you call it?”

“That’s Huijae, Huijae!”

“Check JC’s stock. How much did it go up?”

“Mom, maybe I should become a celebrity too.”

“You take after your dad, so you can’t be a celebrity....”

Han Yeoreum’s face was everywhere.

Assistant Manager Shin, on his way home from work, subtly listened to the people around him. Han Yeoreum’s name could be heard in every murmured conversation nearby.

Even Assistant Manager Shin of JC ENM found the sheer scale of it hard to believe, so naturally the general public was even more astonished.

The corners of Assistant Manager Shin’s mouth rose.

A new wave.

Before, he had only felt the abstract sensation that something like that was rolling in.

Now it was completely different.

Han Yeoreum was no longer abstract.

She was giving it shape, showing people something tangible, and forging a path that had never existed before in a concrete, unmistakable way.

* * *

And back in America.

The reaction here was just as intense, if not more so.

Because Americans knew all too well just how influential a celebrity like Vanessa was, and just how enormous a corporation like LMVH was.

“My doughter....”

Marcus clasped both hands tightly together as though in prayer. He was overwhelmed with emotion at the sheer volume of buzz sweeping across America almost as soon as she arrived in New York.

“Papa is always proud of you....”

It wasn’t just Intube. Even on TinTok, which had an overwhelming influence over trends among people in their teens and twenties, everyone was talking about Han Yeoreum.

People who knew little about Korea, people who had never even heard Han Yeoreum’s name, even people who knew K-Pop but had never cared about K-Dramas.

Everyone’s attention was beginning to converge on a single person.

-The fact that Vanessa could sell her entire beauty line to go meet Erno and still couldn’t get loaned a single 35-carat pink diamond like the one around that Korean actress’s neck is driving me insane ??

-Want me to be honest? If I were Erno, unless I’d been shot in the head, I’d rather give jewelry to some unknown Asian girl than to nepo babies lol At least she isn’t wasting her parents’ lives!

-Erno has completely lost his mind over money. Does anyone not know he’s a major Netholics shareholder?

-The days when Vanessa’s squad owned New York are over. How sad XD

-She’s the typical rising star who’ll shine for a moment by riding the Asian Netholics boom. Nobody will even remember her name a year from now. How many stars have disappeared from Hollywood exactly like that?

Even those who still hadn’t watched <Seoul Metropolitan City>, people who genuinely had no interest whatsoever in either K-Pop or K-Dramas, now opened Netholics.

And so it remained Global TOP 1.

<Seoul Metropolitan City> stood firmly in place, as though it had no intention whatsoever of surrendering the position.

Noah, who had been checking the local reactions, removed the noise-blocking earplugs from his ears. Then he clicked one of the videos uploaded to TinTok.

It was a short clip of Han Yeoreum taken at the after-party.

“....”

The deafening DJ music, people drunkenly giggling in the distance, champagne glasses clinking together, the click of heels as someone stumbled and misplaced their footing, and then.

Han Yeoreum’s voice, seizing his attention in an instant.

Noah frowned briefly at the wave of noise pouring in, then put his earplugs back in and turned off the video.

‘So she can make that kind of voice too.’

Noah liked that as well. The subtly different intonation and tempo compared to when she spoke her native language. Even the way she never hesitated.

And Noah thought.

‘It probably won’t be long before we’re neighbors either....’

She wasn’t bad at English. She generated enormous buzz wherever she went. Her acting ability had already been proven. Her image hadn’t been overexposed. To sum it all up, she was fresh, capable, and possessed the kind of charm that drew the public in.

In that case, there was no way Hollywood agencies wouldn’t covet her.

Noah Williams mentally sifted through the screenplays he had been commissioned to work on, picking out projects that might suit Han Yeoreum.

Meanwhile.

-Hollywood discovers some new Asian rookie every year and throws them away after a single season! Think about all the kids who blew up last year. Where are they now? Where do you think she’ll be by next year’s Fashion Week?

Just as the “Han Yeoreum isn’t actually that big a deal” crowd began slowly raising their heads even in America—

[The Emperor of LMVH... Shakes New York with a Single SNS Post — Who Is Han Yeoreum, the Actress Setting Netholics Ablaze?]

Erno dropped a bomb.

* * *

Daily Media had overdosed on national pride.

From the reporters stationed in New York to those still back in Korea, everyone was talking about Han Yeoreum.

“At this rate, she really might go to Hollywood.”

“Think Erno might push some fashion-related project for Han Yeoreum, like <Amélie with Paris>?”

“Do you think he watched <Dongdaemun Romance>?”

Had K-Drama ever truly broken into the American market before?

They could say with absolute certainty that it had not.

Awards might have been handed to Asians for the sake of filling out a diverse lineup, but <Seoul Metropolitan City> was the first project ever to provoke a reaction from the American public on this scale.

‘This is driving me crazy.... I’ve been onto her since <ParCheHi>....’

Wi Jaehwi, who had been a genuine Han Yeoreum fan since the very earliest days, could barely contain his urge to boast about his eye for talent.

“I knew Han Yeoreum was going to make it from the beginning, though. She was such a sensation.”

“Me too. Something like <ParCheHi> isn’t easy to pull off.”

At the remarks from several reporters, Wi Jaehwi wanted to leap to his feet and shout that he was the real deal.

And then, while still listening to the reporters’ conversation and repeatedly refreshing his phone, Reporter Wi saw something and his eyes widened.

“Wait. What the hell is this?”

“What is it?”

“Han Yeoreum....”

At the mere mention of Han Yeoreum’s name, every one of his colleagues focused on him.

After all, the sheer immersion offered by a single actress who had somehow begun showing them realities beyond anything they could have imagined was considerable.

“She’s on LMVH’s Ustar.”

“Come on, why are you looking so serious over that?”

“Of course she’d be on there! That’s why they loaned her the jewelry in the first place.”

At their reactions, as though he was making a fuss over nothing, Wi Jaehwi screamed.

“No! Look at this!”