Episode 26
\Episode 26: Unusual View Count
At 6 PM, the teaser for ‘The Outcast Legend’ was uploaded to Kairos’s YouTube channel.
Fans of Kairos, who had been waiting, immediately watched the short one-minute video.
They didn’t have high expectations for the acting.
It was already well known among fans that Nam Si-woo’s acting skills weren’t particularly good.
They were simply satisfied with seeing a new side of him.
However, after watching the video, they were deeply shocked.
The performance he showed was so different that it made them question whether this was really the Nam Si-woo they knew.
"Is that really our Si-woo? Seriously feels like a different person."
"Even just watching on screen, the emotional line is insane… I almost cried."
"LOL as expected of our oppa! His talent is exploding."
"Si-woo, if you’re even good at acting, what are we supposed to do now lol."
The comments were quickly filling with praise for Nam Si-woo’s acting in real time.
But that wasn’t all.
Even in that short clip, there was someone who captured everyone’s attention.
It was Baek Seung-chan, who played Kang Hyuk.
"That actor playing Kang Hyuk looks insanely cool."
"What is that acting? He’s really good."
"Agreed lol, he’s got a vibe."
"It’s like the screen fills up whenever he appears. His presence is crazy."
"Who is he? His chemistry with Si-woo is pretty good too."
"They say his name is Baek Seung-chan, but nothing much comes up when you search lol. Must be a rookie."
"Wow lol he’s definitely going to blow up. Actors like this hit big in one go."
Despite appearing briefly, Baek Seung-chan left a strong impression, making people curious about him.
But the biggest reaction from viewers was something else entirely.
"Is this really a web drama? Why is the quality like a full TV drama lol."
"I thought it was a movie trailer. This is insane."
"Ahh lol how are we supposed to wait a week;; release it already"
"We need the full episode ASAP please lol."
People were eagerly waiting for the full release.
And this heated reaction began spreading across various SNS platforms and online communities.
These days, Baek Seung-hui’s daily life was busier than anyone else’s.
School in the morning, entrance exam academy after classes, and studying composition at home until she went to bed.
Aside from commuting and meals, she barely had any free time.
Her family told her to take it easy, but she couldn’t.
She believed she had to work harder than anyone else to make up for lost time.
There was also another reason—she wanted to succeed in music and repay her family.
Of course, it would be a lie to say it wasn’t hard.
But she was truly happy just to be able to pursue music again.
So even on her day off, she was diligently studying at home.
Though, fatigue was unavoidable.
"Yawn."
Baek Seung-hui checked the time.
P.M. 5:58
She had started after lunch, but it was already dinner time.
"I worked hard, so now it’s time to relax a bit."
She opened the Apple laptop Baek Seung-chan had bought her and went to YouTube.
Then she entered the Kairos channel she was subscribed to.
"It’s about to come out."
What she was waiting for was the teaser for ‘The Outcast Legend,’ releasing at 6 PM.
The moment it hit 6, she refreshed the page and immediately clicked on the uploaded video.
"Wow, our oppa looks completely different."
She was amazed while watching Nam Si-woo’s acting.
As a longtime fan of Kairos—or rather, Nam Si-woo—she knew he wasn’t good at acting.
"As expected, our oppa can do anything."
She watched with satisfaction, then suddenly stood up in shock and shouted.
"What?!"
A familiar face had appeared in the video.
"Why is my brother in this?"
Baek Seung-chan was on the screen.
"Weren’t you just an extra?"
She had only heard that he worked as a background actor in ‘The Outcast Legend.’
But her surprise was short-lived as she found herself drawn into his performance.
"Why is he so good at acting?"
Every moment he appeared, he didn’t feel like her brother—he felt like a completely different person.
Like a famous actor performing.
"······."
After finishing the one-minute teaser, Baek Seung-hui stared blankly at the screen.
It all felt like a dream.
Then, gathering her thoughts, she ran out of her room.
"Oppa!"
"You can just speak quietly, I can hear you. What is it?"
Baek Seung-chan, who was preparing dinner, frowned slightly at the noise.
"What do you mean ‘what’? If you had a supporting role in ‘The Outcast Legend,’ you should’ve told me! I wanted to see you act alongside Si-woo oppa in person."
"This is exactly why I didn’t tell you. You didn’t even ask."
"That’s so mean…"
She put on a hurt expression, but it didn’t fool Baek Seung-chan.
It was clearly fake.
"Nothing changes anyway, so don’t ask for anything weird."
"Tch, I just wanted to see Si-woo oppa."
Only then did she show genuine disappointment.
"I’ll call you next time if there’s a chance, so stop sulking and focus on your studies."
"Really? You promise? If you break it, you’ll go bald."
"What kind of curse is that…"
At that moment—
Click.
The door opened, and their mother came out.
"What’s going on? Why are you so noisy?"
"Yeah, what’s got our daughter so excited?"
Their father followed behind and added a comment.
"Mom, Dad. Don’t be surprised."
Saying that, Baek Seung-hui ran to her room, brought out her Apple laptop, and played the teaser.
"Watch this."
"What is it?"
"Just watch."
At her insistence, their parents watched the video.
Halfway through, their eyes widened like startled rabbits as they alternated between looking at Baek Seung-chan and the screen.
Seeing this, Baek Seung-chan smiled and said,
"I wanted to surprise you, so I didn’t tell you properly until now. It’s my first project as an actor."
"Our son really became a celebrity? This is amazing."
"Ahem, he must take after me. Handsome, just like his father."
They were overjoyed, and seeing them like that, Baek Seung-chan felt that becoming an actor had been the right choice.
CEO Ji Pyeong-san smiled as he looked at his monitor.
What he was watching was Kairos’s YouTube channel.
More specifically, the view count of ‘The Outcast Legend’ teaser.
"Uploaded 1 day ago, 310,000 views"
In truth, he had considered it a huge success if it reached 200,000 views in a day.
Even though Kairos had 1.5 million subscribers, most of their videos barely reached 100,000 views unless they were something special.
This was the same for other idol groups as well.
In fact, some had over 10 million subscribers but barely reached 100,000 views in a week.
Due to the global nature of idol fandoms, subscriber numbers were often inflated, and when they weren’t actively promoting, audiences didn’t pay much attention to repetitive content.
Yet this video had exceeded his expectations by over 100,000 views.
On top of that, the comments and community reactions were positive, and it had even ranked 5th on YouTube’s trending videos.
The response was beyond expectations.
"At this rate, it might surpass 500,000 views on the first day."
Considering that ‘Sound of Heart,’ which became a legend among web dramas, had 1 million views on its first day, even 500,000 would be incredible.
If that happened, not only would their initial goal of 1.5 million cumulative views be easily achieved, but it might even surpass 10 million—the mark of a major hit for a web drama.
"Let’s see…"
He waited for next week with anticipation.
That evening.
After finishing his workout, Ma Dong-gi visited a quiet bar near his house to meet a friend.
"How many people?"
"Two. My friend will be here soon."
"This way—no, actually, I’ll guide you over here."
The staff had initially tried to seat him at a two-person table but, seeing his large build, guided him to a four-person table instead.
He sat down as usual and waited for his friend.
Buzz—buzz—.
At that moment, his phone vibrated.
It was a notification from the group chat for ‘The Killer’s Shopping Mall.’
"Seung-chan’s project is out. Congrats on your debut."
"His debut work? Can’t miss that."
"I’m telling you, it’s guaranteed to be a hit."
"Senior, it just came out. How do you already know?"
"Idiot! I’m just saying!"
The group chat was lively with messages sharing the link to ‘The Outcast Legend’ and words of encouragement.
"Oh right, it was today."
He had heard about it from Baek Seung-chan during action training a few days ago.
"Should I watch it?"
He still had time before his friend arrived, and recalling Baek Seung-chan’s performance, he became curious.
What kind of acting had he shown in that project?
He immediately clicked the link and started watching ‘The Outcast Legend EP. 01.’
"These rookies are really good at acting these days."
As expected, Baek Seung-chan’s acting was excellent.
It was similar to what he had shown in ‘The Killer’s Shopping Mall,’ yet also different.
And Nam Si-woo’s performance was also impressive.
It might not have been on the same level as Baek Seung-chan, but it left a lasting impression.
As he watched, completely immersed, someone sat across from him and spoke.
It was his friend, Lee Jin, a man with distinctive red-framed glasses.
"Hey, I told you not to smile like that. You’re already big and look intimidating. When you smile, it’s even scarier. You’re freaking people out."
"What do you mean scary…"
As Ma Dong-gi lifted his head to respond, he paused.
The moment he made eye contact with another customer, he could see them flinch.
"I’m not a bad person."
He tried to clear the misunderstanding with a smile, but the customer quickly turned away in shock.
"If you don’t want to get reported again, just ignore them."
"Ahem…"
Embarrassed, Ma Dong-gi cleared his throat without arguing.
There had been cases where he was reported just based on his appearance.
"What were you watching so intently? Usually you’d already be eating everything on the table by now."
"Oh, a junior I met recently—his web drama just came out."
"You mean that junior?"
"Yeah, it’s his debut work."
Lee Jin knew exactly who he meant.
Ma Dong-gi had been praising Baek Seung-chan endlessly, saying there was nothing he couldn’t do—acting or action.
"What’s it called?"
"Why? You watch dramas too?"
Ma Dong-gi tilted his head.
"What do you think I am? I don’t just watch movies. I watch dramas, novels, webtoons, everything. I just happen to be a film critic."
Lee Jin was a film critic—one of the most renowned in Korea.
"It’s called ‘The Outcast Legend.’ I sent you the link, so watch it."
"Alright."
Lee Jin played the video from the link Ma Dong-gi sent him.
And the next day, the first-day view count for ‘The Outcast Legend’ was revealed.
"1 day ago, 1.03 million views"
It was an extraordinary number of views.