CHAPTER 019: The Importance of Hook Copy
CHAPTER 019: The Importance of Hook Copy
On the day of the press conference,
unfortunately, I couldn’t participate.
It was an event only for the two lead actors, the writer, and the director.
But honestly, that was even better.
Because I had a stage more important than the press conference hall.
‘Everything’s already timed and lined up.’
The moment the press conference ended, and the reporters’ Q&A wrapped up—
Operation start.
The first to move was the drama production team.
[Possessed Investigation official website—cast profile update]
[Kang Seoho role — Ryu Sunho]
Right after that, a new post went up on the drama’s official Instagram account.
It was Kang Seoho’s first official character poster—me in firefighting training gear, smiling brightly.
@mbsdrama_official
[A young man with passion hotter than fire, Kang Seoho]
#PossessedInvestigation #KangSeoho #RyuSunho
Up to this point, it was normal promotion.
But the real thing started now.
Less than a minute after the official post went up, a familiar ID appeared in the comments.
@seoho20:
[What you need to be careful of is… the heart that takes it lightly.]
The official account pinned that comment to the top as if it had been waiting.
And in that instant, social media started to churn.
—??? What? Kang Seoho??
—Wait… so the ID wasn’t a typo?
—Ryu Sunho was running Instagram as Kang Seoho?
—This is insane;; then all those hiking pics, the fire station pic… all of it was… not Ryu Sunho’s daily life, but “Kang Seoho’s” daily life?
While people were still in confusion and shock,
the finishing blow landed.
As if she’d timed it perfectly, Reporter Seo Jiyeon pushed an exclusive.
[Exclusive] Ryu Sunho’s spine-chilling marketing… the truth behind the SNS account: it was the drama character ‘Kang Seoho’!
[JTBN Reporter Seo Jiyeon] It has been revealed that actor Ryu Sunho has been personally operating the SNS account of his role, ‘Kang Seoho,’ in order to communicate with viewers even before the drama’s broadcast, causing a shock. All of his posts are based on the personality and narrative of the character within the drama…
The moment the article dropped, the last puzzle piece clicked into place on my Instagram.
@seoho20
(A close-up photo of the “Kang Seoho” name tag on the firefighting gear)
[With burning passion!]
All of this happened within ten minutes.
Only then did people understand everything.
The “typo” in the ID, the hiking photo, the fire station visit—
every single thing had been part of a huge design meant to expand the drama’s world into real life.
What happened on Instagram spread fast across every community.
Nobody cared about the press conference anymore—trending posts were all about what Ryu Sunho had done.
[Huge twist!! Ryu Sunho’s Instagram ID wasn’t a typo—it was a design]
[This creepy promotion method is blowing up right now]
[You thought it was just a typical celebrity account—its identity is something you never imagined]
[“Kang Seoho” Insta pilgrimage coordinates—so interesting]
The comments section boiled with shock and praise.
—Holy shit… why did I keep mocking it as a typo
—That’s chilling
—Feels like I already participated in the story before the drama even started
—This is real marketing. It’s on a completely different level from just shoving ads at people
—It overlaps airing time with Ghost Doctor? Fine, I’m definitely watching Possessed Investigation Episode 1. Suddenly I’m super interested
—If you comment on that Insta, he replies staying in Kang Seoho mode
└That’s basically method acting right now
—How did he even think of a twist like this… seriously, an identity no one could imagine
Back in the 2000s, when SNS wasn’t as developed as it is now, press conferences were often called “Episode 0” of a drama—the most attention-grabbing event.
But now it was different.
In an era overflowing with things to watch, the public no longer cared much about ceremonial events.
At most, people just passed around a few press photos in article form.
That exact gap was what I targeted.
People don’t get excited by formulaic promotion.
They explode over unexpected twists and unusual stories.
I flipped the force of massive capital with one clever idea.
‘Good. Now the board is properly set.’
Meanwhile, Director Chae Wongi and Writer Park Eunju—
their mood wrecked after the press conference disaster—
canceled the reserved beef place and returned to the writing studio, drinking cheap soju in a shabby way.
“It’s bitter, bitter! Life’s bitter and soju’s bitter!”
“Ugh, that bitch Choi Jeongin sent a provoking text.”
“What’d she say? Let me see.”
While they bickered over Choi Jeongin’s message,
the assistant writer suddenly rushed in, phone in hand, panting.
“Writer, Director! It’s chaos right now!”
“What, what is it? Did you get possessed?”
“No, it’s not that. Community reactions are—!”
“I know. I don’t even need to look. It’s all about—”
“No! It’s only talking about Possessed Investigation!”
“What?”
“No—more precisely, it’s only talking about Ryu Sunho!”
The two of them grabbed the phone the assistant writer shoved at them, their eyes going wide.
“Ryu Sunho… Instagram twist?”
Reading through it, they couldn’t hide their shock.
“‘All posts are based on the character’s personality and narrative’… damn, this kills.”
“No, how did he even think of doing something like this… we didn’t even ask him!”
“He’s saying he’ll do everything he can for the drama he’s in. Wow—look how hard the attention snapped over? The drama hasn’t even started and it’s already being talked about like this. I’ve never seen that.”
“Bwahahaha!”
Writer Park Eunju chugged soju out of nowhere and started grinning.
“What’s with you, you drunk?”
“No, he’s just so damn admirable. I was depressed thinking the press conference went to hell, and then he hits them with this satisfying punch. There’s not a single post about Survival Love in the communities! It’s all Instagram and our drama!”
“They’re probably pretty bitter too. They took all the reporters, but we took all the attention. A blessing rolled in on a vine. Just pulling off Seoho is already impressive, and now he’s backing us up with promotion too.”
“Huh? Wait. Seoho… Sunho… you’re right! The names are similar! Why didn’t I realize that? Wow, maybe this was heaven’s sign—telling us to give this role to our Sunho?”
“I’m the one who brought Sunho in. Not heaven. Thank me.”
“Yes yes, of course, of course. But seriously—the more you chew on it, the more genius it is. He fooled everyone and then—bam—twist! If it were me, I’d be shocked and immediately look up what drama this is!”
“The company planned it, right?”
“Probably. He’s just a twenty-one-year-old kid. It’s not like he’s worked at an ad agency. He doesn’t have the seasoned experience to come up with something like this.”
“Right… but why do I keep expecting more? He’s different. His acting, the way he treats people—he’s not shallow or flimsy like kids these days.”
“True. You were surprised during the appearance-fee negotiation too. Not rude—more like he thinks deep and has this weird calm, like he’s already lived through everything.”
“Means he has a solid core. Yeah. He won’t dig his own grave. You know the type these days—gets a little famous and instantly catches celebrity disease and crashes.”
“Oh, he’s different. Our Sunho’s the guy who got the Brave Citizen Award. And his acting passion is insane. His foundation is right from the start.”
“Then I’m excited. How far he’ll grow. A once-in-an-era genius monster with talent, character, and brains. We should treat him well from here on.”
“I’ve been treating him well from the start, okay? Director, stop scolding me on set.”
“Scold you? If anything, you barely give NGs for a rookie, so I don’t even have anything to do.”
Buzzing with excitement, the two of them refilled their glasses and lifted their arms high into the air.
“Ahh! Anyway, thanks to our Sunho, the soju tastes sweet. Sweet, so sweet! Life’s sweet too! Cheers!”