CHAPTER 034: Fan Café
CHAPTER 034: Fan Café
Chairman Han Taejun of Taeseong Ilbo’s grand mansion.
In front of the enormous dining table where breakfast had been laid out, Han Taejun silently flipped through the front page of the newspaper he published.
Then.
“Good morning, Father.”
His son, Han Seungwoo, sat down at the table, wiping the sleep from his eyes.
Han Taejun lowered his newspaper and looked at his son.
“Are you feeling any better?”
“I’m fine. At this point, I think I’d be okay riding a motorcycle, not just a car.”
“……”
“I’m kidding. Kidding.”
At Han Seungwoo’s answer, a faint crease formed between Han Taejun’s brows.
“Our son still looks gaunt. Are you really sure you’re okay to go back to the office?”
The mother’s voice from across the table was filled with blind worry for her son.
“Mother, I told you I’m fine. Who do you think I am? I’m the guy who rolled off a cliff while skiing and still went to a party the next day. This is nothing—barely even a scratch. I’m the kind of man who turns accidents into opportunities.”
Han Seungwoo answered confidently as he cut his steak.
There was not a hint of remorse in his tone.
Even with a son who stayed childish no matter how old he got, no matter how many times he nearly died and came back, the mother only smiled, pleased.
“Stop trying to turn it into an opportunity, and stop causing accidents in the first place.”
Leaving his father’s worried gaze behind, Han Seungwoo returned as Content Division Head of Content Trinity’s Content Business Division.
The moment he entered the lobby, the employees stopped what they were doing as if on cue and bowed to him politely.
“Division Head, are you feeling all right?”
At one employee’s cautious question, Han Seungwoo showed an unusually gentle smile.
“Thanks to you. Thank you for worrying.”
At his answer, the entire office stirred.
‘What? Did he change?’
‘He said he was sick—did he actually grow up?’
But the moment the door to his office closed, the gentle smile evaporated from Han Seungwoo’s face.
As if suffocating, he roughly loosened his tie and threw his jacket onto the sofa.
“Ugh. How did Father keep this concept up all year long?”
He pressed the intercom and spoke curtly to his secretary.
“Team Leader Yoo. Tell him to come into my office right now.”
Soon after, Team Leader Yoo entered the office with tension written all over his face.
“You brought the materials, right? Ryu Sunho.”
“Yes, Division Head. Here.”
Han Seungwoo flipped through the tablet PC he was handed, scanning Ryu Sunho’s information.
‘Let’s see… Brave Citizen Award. That’s something I made for him. Mate Beverage ad—oh, that blew up? And the drama ‘ ’ launched him to stardom… What the hell, he’s basically a comic-book protagonist. He grew this much while I was gone?’
Han Seungwoo gave a short snort of laughter.
“This is an interesting guy.”
“Pardon? Ah… yes. He’s the most watched rookie right now.”
“Looks like he left Divine Investigation. Anything about what he’s doing next?”
“Through unofficial channels, we confirmed that he recently signed a three-year Exclusive Model Contract renewal with Mate Beverage, and that he’s been cast as the lead in a film called ‘ ’…”
“He was cast as the lead?”
“…Yes.”
Han Seungwoo’s interest fully ignited.
“Get me the script.”
Not long after, Team Leader Yoo obtained a bound copy of the script.
After Han Seungwoo finished reading it, he summoned all the team leaders.
“This is fun. But why are they still flailing around without even securing a distributor?”
“That’s… While it’s being evaluated highly in terms of quality, there are many opinions that it’s commercially risky. Especially with a rookie director and a rookie lead.”
“There also seems to be significant concern that actor Ryu Sunho’s ticket power hasn’t been verified yet.”
“Ticket power? Give me a break.”
Irritation surged up inside Han Seungwoo.
“If you’re only going to make movies based on ticket power, then just gather S-grade actors and shoot documentaries. Why? You’re supposed to look at what’s in the script before you make a movie!”
His voice exploded into a shout.
“This is why we can’t get a work like Parasite. So we’re just going to let something this fun go?”
“T-that’s…”
“Do we not have money? Do we not have infrastructure?”
At Han Seungwoo’s sudden anger, the team leaders hunched their shoulders.
“We have the Moviebox multiplex chain, don’t we? And we’ve got the distributor PlayT too. What’s the problem? If we want to, we can push it straight through from production to distribution to theatrical release—so why are you all shrinking back and watching everyone else’s faces!”
He slammed his palm down on the desk.
“That’s why we’re always losing to Haegang and DK. Because you don’t have the spirit to take risks! Before someone else snatches them up, contact Nine Film right now. Tell them we’re investing, and we’re distributing.”
Meanwhile,
inside Flash Entertainment’s office.
“You—other than English—do you speak any other languages?”
At Team Leader Jo Sehun’s question, Ryu Sunho hesitated for a moment.
The language slots the system had opened.
How was he supposed to explain that?
Action would be faster than words.
There were several foreign fashion magazines on the office desk.
Ryu Sunho picked up a magazine in front of him and read one sentence in each language.
“……!”
Team Leader Jo Sehun could only stare blankly, mouth slightly open, as if he had seen a ghost.
His mind was in total chaos.
‘What was that just now… What did I even see? How is this possible?’
He desperately searched for a rational explanation for this unreal situation.
‘Did he live overseas? No, he went to elementary, middle, and high school all in Korea. Then personal study…? He’s only twenty-one?!’
There was only one conclusion.
‘He’s a monster. I brought him in thinking he was an acting monster, but the guy himself is just a monster. His marketing ideas, his languages… this isn’t just “smart,” is it?’
He barely pulled himself together and asked in a trembling voice.
“…You didn’t just make that up, did you?”
“Should I go take an OPIc test?”
“No… If you say so, then I guess it’s true.”
As if he had given up on understanding entirely, Team Leader Jo Sehun shook his head.
Then his phone alarm rang.
He checked the time and spoke.
“Uh… okay, I got it. I need to head over to Nine Film. Sunho, you stay at the office and take it easy, then go.”
He hurried out of the office.
On the way down to the parking lot, his head was filled with nothing but the unreal scene he had just witnessed.
Only after he got into the car could he finally gather himself.
“Hoo…”
After taking a deep breath, he picked up his phone and dialed writer Jeong Gaeul’s number.
He needed to answer the question she had asked.
—Hello?
“This is Team Leader Jo Sehun from Flash Entertainment.”
—Ah, hello, Team Leader.
“I’m calling about Sunho.”
—Ah, yes! So he can do other languages too?
“Yes.”
—Which languages?
Team Leader Jo Sehun hesitated for a moment.
Just from what he’d shown earlier, there was French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic, and more.
He couldn’t even gauge how far it went.
Rather than explaining them one by one, he figured it was better to put it like this.
“Most languages. Almost all of them.”
—…Pardon?
Mate Beverage’s ad etched itself into the public’s mind.
And as the drama ‘ ’ drew explosive attention, interest in Ryu Sunho became a major current.
But there still wasn’t any official community.
They needed a central anchor to gather the scattered fan sentiment into one place, and with Flash Entertainment’s official approval, his official fan café opened its doors.
[Ryu Sunho Actor Official Fan Café – Sunho Thought]
At first, the café started with a few hundred members, but it grew at a terrifying speed.
Some people found it strange—What on earth are they seeing that has them flooding into a rookie actor’s fan café so passionately?—but once they skimmed a few of the café’s popular posts, they understood the reason right away.
《No matter how much you dig, only good deeds come out: Ryu Sunho personality collection!》
———————————————
-He’s a real person and he’s like this? Isn’t he an angel?
-Sunho… your ideology was right. I’ll support you for life.
-Crazy… this is our actor.
《Ryu Sunho marketing genius theory.jpg》
PD said so.
They said everything from the “peach turnip” naming to the “healthiest fruit” positioning was all Ryu Sunho’s idea.
They even said the ‘Kang Seoho Instagram’ for ‘ ’ was his planning too;
———————————————
-Honestly, isn’t he not an actor but a marketing division head? lol
-I thought he was only a genius face, but his brain is genius too.
-This oppa knows way too well what he needs to do to be attractive…
《Kang Seoho Episode 1 vs Episode 2 gaze change in-depth analysis》
Did you see him blink once when he handed water to Detective Han Jaeyoon in episode 1?
At that moment, his pupils were filled only with pure curiosity.
But look at him blinking in episode 2 when he threatens Jang Manok.
There’s no pupil movement—only the eyelids go down and back up. That’s an expression of confidence that he completely dominated the other person…
———————————————
-Wow. It was a scene I just passed over, but when you look at it like this, it’s totally different. You can see how meticulously Sunho calculated and acted
-This is insane… so this is why they call him an acting genius
-I’m going to rewatch for the nth time after reading this. Joining Sunho Thought was the right call
-Isn’t this too much of a reach?
└Can we kick this person out please
└This comment has been deleted by the administrator.
Sunho Thought was playing the role of a revolving door, making people fall deeply into the charm of the actor they supported and unable to escape.
And recently, Sunho Thought had been living through very busy days.
Ryu Sunho’s first birthday since debut—September 17—was right around the corner.
To commemorate his first birthday in a special way, the fans launched a subway celebration-ad project.
The fundraising exceeded the target amount in just one hour, and now voting began to choose the most important part: the photo.
The board turned into a battlefield of heated debate like never before.
《Vote. Ryu Sunho Actor-nim first birthday ad! Which photo should we use?》
———————————————
-The roots pick is #1. The beginning of the “Ryu Sunho” narrative
-#1 is good but it feels too civilian… it’s a shame if we want to show actor Ryu Sunho’s charm
-An actor should be shown through acting! Let’s go with #3, Kang Seoho scenes!
└But for a birthday congrats ad, having a burning temple background is a bit… isn’t it?
└lol Then how about clear-and-bright Kang Seoho doing firefighter training?
-I’m #2! A lot of people probably had “Human Mate Beverage” as their gateway to stanning Ryu Sunho? Public appeal is #2!
└Agreed. That refreshing image that pops into your head when you think “Ryu Sunho.” It’s just legendary.
└Public appeal + refreshing + perfect visuals. Best balance. If we want even more people to learn Sunho’s charm, #2 is the best.
After a fierce, razor-thin vote, they ultimately decided on the Mate Beverage ad photo.
The ad posting period would include his birthday, September 17, plus one week on either side.
From September 10 to 24. His face would shine at Hongdae Entrance Station.
This birthday ad meant a great deal to the fans.
Because it was commemorating so many of Ryu Sunho’s “firsts.”
The first birthday after debut.
And the first gift the fans gave him.
Tens of thousands of fans, with one heart and one mind, desperately wished for Ryu Sunho to be happy.
And finally, September 17.
On Ryu Sunho’s birthday.
A sighting of Ryu Sunho was posted from a completely unexpected place.
[OMG I just saw actor Ryu Sunho!]
That location was a fire station.