Chapter 24
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Translator: Wjin
Chapter: 024
Chapter Title: Wave
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Originally, fans who turned their backs were far scarier than any haters.
[I'm Quitting the Fandom - Proof]
[Exposing Trash Ryu Gi-on and Quitting]
[Ryu Gi-on Treats Fans Like Suckers. Video Proof Inside]
The communities were suddenly flooded with fans posting their "quit fandom" proofs and exposés.
DUI, assaulting his manager, girlfriends—those were just the tip of the iceberg.
The true face of Ryu Gi-on, who had built his image on an angelic face and sweet personality, kept getting exposed.
Acting all innocent on TV like he didn't know anything. How many girlfriends have come out so far? Not just two-timing—what, octopus-timing?!
Gives me the chills for real.
Please tell me you never dated a fan. Gi-on, you bastard.
Wasted so much time stanning this creep. I wanna die.
The fans were shocked and turned away.
The reporters were busy tearing Ryu Gi-on down.
Even on Newtube, shorts marveling at the casting change in the drama Flame started popping up.
[Writer Cheon Ji-hee's Godlike Foresight!]
[Drama Flame Nearly Tanked?!]
[Trust Cheon Ji-hee—She Knew All Along!]
All of them raved that swapping him out for Shin Yi-han was a stroke of genius.
Holy shit. What would've happened if they hadn't switched?
Rooting for Actor Shin Yi-han!
Thank God. That psycho almost ruined the crazy ending;;
The man at the center of all those posts and articles could only tear his hair out and scream.
"Aaaargh!"
Crash! Ryu Gi-on hurled a water bottle from the office floor.
"Can't you staff keep your mouths shut?! Tell the reporters to pull all those articles now!"
With the DUI breaking and exposés pouring in, Ryu Gi-on was yelling in rage.
The manager clutched his forehead. This is insane.
Ryu Gi-on's handler had posted a ton of exposés online and gone dark.
And the guy himself had topped off his DUI with a hit-and-run. He had to turn himself in at the station pronto.
"Gi-on..."
There was no way out.
"Just lay low for a bit. Delete all your SNS, stay quiet for six months—no, a year—"
"What?"
But the idiot in question still hadn't grasped the situation.
"Are you crazy? Why should I?! Hit-and-run's just 'diminished capacity,' right? Slap together some psych records and we're done. Sue the shit out of the rest! What's the big deal?!"
"......"
"Can't TOP Enter handle that much?!"
The manager was speechless.
No, first off, the idol group wants him out...
How is he so brazen?
The manager sighed.
Sure, he's the CEO's nephew, so we'd cover for him, but damn. Kid's done for.
And that's when it happened.
Bang!
The office door flew open.
"Ryu Gi-on."
A chilling voice rang out. The CEO of TOP Enter had come to see him personally.
"Huh? Uncle!"
Ryu Gi-on grinned, thinking his uncle would back him up again.
The CEO marched straight up to him.
Thwack!
He kicked Ryu Gi-on without hesitation. Ryu tumbled to the floor amid crashing noises.
"U-Uncle...?!"
"Uncle my ass! You fucking lunatic."
Ryu Gi-on's face went pale. The CEO bellowed, fury boiling over.
"Everything was fine if you'd just stayed put! You had to fuck it all up?!"
The CEO shoved his phone in Ryu Gi-on's face, ranting.
"Shut your trap from now on! Crawl into a hole and play dead!"
"......!"
Ryu Gi-on finally got it.
Especially from the phone screen his uncle—no, the CEO—showed him.
[Ryu Gi-on School Bullying Proof Attached. This Bastard Tormented Me Throughout Middle School...]
[Silenced by His Threats All This Time, But This Incident Gave Me Courage to Speak.]
"Gasp. Th-This..."
Waves upon waves crashing atop the swells had formed a massive tsunami.
No one could stop the downfall now.
Insane. Straight facts. This.
How did the victim survive all these years?
Wow. Weird it took this long to blow up.
Even if he was kin to some big shot in the industry.
Ryu Gi-on's backing is no joke.
CEO's nephew—must've covered it up.
School violence was one topic the industry never forgave—no amount of pull could fix that.
True rock bottom.
Ryu Gi-on was about to get completely buried in this chaotic wave.
But riding that very wave was someone else.
The spark of it all.
The drama Flame.
And Shin Yi-han, who took the finale in his place.
Not missing the timing, the drama Brilliant Sky pounced too.
The Brilliant Sky team seized the moment as noise around the scandal boosted interest in Shin Yi-han.
[Special Teaser | World Premiere! Ham Yeon-jeong's Glorious Revenge in Brilliant Sky]
The perfect timing. The special teaser for Brilliant Sky dropped.
Kids! Check this out! Drama called Brilliant Sky. Snagged the teaser thumbnail!
Captures and links spread across communities, as expected.
Uh...? What's with this thumbnail?
In the drama teaser's thumbnail, Shin Yi-han's face...
Isn't that the Dong-ho from Flame? The boy role!
Jackpot. Adult Dong-ho! Modern Dong-ho!
Gasp! It's really Dong-ho!
Perfect for stirring up a new wave.
Wait, why's Dong-ho bleeding and collapsed?ㅠ
No time for thumbnails, guys. Click the link NOW.
The Brilliant Sky teaser, kicking off with that familiar face, hooked viewers from the start.
First scene: Shin Yi-han dead on asphalt, eyes barely closed.
'Mom, I'm sorry.'
Then merciless narration flowed.
'Guess I was too greedy.'
Words the dead boy never got to tell his mom.
'Tried to handle it all alone.'
'It didn't work out.'
Not even a hint of the boy Dong-ho from Flame.
'So please, Mom, don't know.'
Regrettable.
'About what happened.'
'It's too ugly, filthy. Horrifying.'
Horrifying.
'That's my life, Mom.'
Sad.
Too much for a video under a minute.
Mi... mired.
Reactions were explosive.
This... is straight-up insane.
Hold up. Why am I crying?
Comments flooded in under the dead son's narration and the mother's revenge tale.
Anyone else get chills right at the start?
I was already crying from the jump.
Ha-neul ㅠㅠㅠ The thought of Dong-ho reincarnating as Ha-neul or something hurts even more ㅠㅠ
Exactly!!!!ㅠㅠ Who bullied my babyㅠㅠ Bring him back to life NOWㅠㅠ
Focus shifted from "no-name replacing Ryu as Dong-ho" to the fresh rookie actor Shin Yi-han.
Views: 20k
Views: 50k
Views: 100k
......
The special teaser's views were skyrocketing.
Shin Yi-han had been checking the internet the whole drive from his hometown to Seoul.
He couldn't help but smile in satisfaction.
- Ryu Gi-on rock bottom
- Ryu Gi-on school bullying
The planned scandal had erupted right on cue.
- Ryu Gi-on Shin Yi-han
Even his name, topping related searches last night.
[Genius Move Swapping Out Ryu Gi-on!]
[Flame's Boy Dong-ho: Shin Yi-han!]
[Writer Cheon Ji-hee's Foresight in Casting a No-Name Rookie!]
That attention naturally flowed to the drama he starred in.
[Dong-ho Reincarnated?! Brilliant Sky Teaser Breakdown!]
[Dong-ho Appears in Drama Brilliant Sky?]
The Brilliant Sky teaser uploaded at lunchtime amplified it all.
Shin Yi-han felt a perfect tailwind blowing.
'Especially since this launch is worlds apart from before.'
He recalled Brilliant Sky's early days getting buried under Ryu Gi-on's mess, zero buzz.
Everyone too busy hating on Ryu to notice a new drama.
Of course, it gained steam over airings, but the start was rough.
Yet this time, it was totally different.
'Ryu's scandal gave it a boost instead.'
Shorts already popping up despite the fresh upload.
Comments going wild.
'Views at 150k already? Climbing fast.'
Shin Yi-han chuckled.
This Brilliant Sky was primed for takeoff.
Not just Brilliant Sky was ready, though.
Under its shining sky,
Shin Yi-han planned to kick off the indie film Innocent Boy.
- Yi-han! What's with Flame? Dong-ho?! I was shocked!!!
- But Yi-han? You didn't forget me amid shooting, right...?
Kwak Hoon, texting right after Flame's finale aired.
- At your hometown now? When you coming to Seoul?!
- Time to get started!
Kwak Hoon, fresh off wrapping Murder's Delusion as assistant director, was free until release.
- Innocent Boy auditions!
Just nail the release date for Murder's Delusion, he said.
- Applications are piling up already!!
Excitement jumped off the screen. He'd even posted the audition notice and pushed things forward.
Shin Yi-han headed straight to Red Film's office where Kwak Hoon was.
Late hour, so just a quick scan of applicant files.
"Gasp! Yi-han! You're here?!"
But Kwak Hoon came barreling out barefoot, startling Shin Yi-han.
"Y-You okay?"
Kwak Hoon's face looked wrecked, like he'd pulled multiple all-nighters.
Stubbly beard, deep dark circles—quite the sight.
Already burned out from Murder's Delusion, now diving into Innocent Boy—exhausting.
"Huh?"
But he seemed oblivious to his fatigue.
"Of course! I'm totally fine!"
Thrilled to finally escape eternal assistant director hell and make his own film.
"C'mon, c'mon!"
Kwak Hoon thumped his chest like "trust me" and grinned.
"Yi-han! I sorted everything while waiting for you!"
Indeed, the conference room table behind him was stacked with audition files.
"Whoa. A ton..."
Masses of applicants.
Shin Yi-han marveled quietly. Worlds away from his past dragging actors door-to-door.
"Right? The synopsis is killer, but Winter Enter's pull helped too."
Word spread thanks to Choo Gyeo-ul investing in Innocent Boy.
Her rep for sharp instincts fueled it.
But sifting gems from that pile wouldn't be easy.
"Gonna take forever to narrow down, huh."
Kwak Hoon knew, smiling awkwardly.
"But I weeded out total newbies! Just these."
He'd done his homework. Pointed to one corner.
Aim: Dodge the crap statistically.
Ideally, see faces and acts in person, but auditions dragged forever.
Shin Yi-han checked Kwak Hoon's stack.
Even to his veteran eye, no standouts.
Lots riding hype alone.
Some caught his eye, though.
'Oh. That guy's the one we cast then recast before.'
Mines in the mix.
'Some landmines here.'
'Oof... No way on this one.'
Shin Yi-han slyly slid papers aside.
Protagonist was locked (himself), but Innocent Boy lived or died on solid supporting cast.
Had to pick right.
Aiming for Seoul Indie Fest top prize? Go all in.
Fine.
'Gotta help out big.'
Shin Yi-han started sorting files briskly.
Better to straight-up recommend—save time, obvious it'd drag otherwise.
"Huh? Yi-han, that's my reject pile! Look here!"
"Ah, hold on."
"......?"
Shin Yi-han even raided Kwak Hoon's "no experience" reject table.
'Gotta be some here.'
This? Nah. Around here maybe. Hands flew.
Soon, they paused.
'Bingo.'
Shin Yi-han grabbed a few happily.
'Whoa, she applied too? Nice.'
Unexpected catches too.
After circling the table a bit more, he called Kwak Hoon excitedly.
"Director."
"Yeah? Oh, right. I'm director now?"
Kwak Hoon, promoted from assistant to Innocent Boy director, beamed at the title.
"Here."
Shin Yi-han handed over his picks.
"Call these for auditions. First if possible."
"Huh? Most have zero experience."
Shin Yi-han grinned at Kwak Hoon's head-tilt.
No real explanation if pressed.
"Yep. Good faces."
Just shoved it over.
"......?"
Shin Yi-han was confident anyway.
'These folks are gonna shine big time.'
Bound to click with Kwak Hoon.