CHAPTER 050: Preserved Like a Specimen
CHAPTER 050: Preserved Like a Specimen
-Ddu-dun, ddu-dun.
-Just as expected, our son—he was just born, so his joints are fresh.
While the VCR exposed my black history to the entire world, the ceremony cameras didn’t miss my face and kept it up in one corner of the screen.
I didn’t move at all.
No—I couldn’t.
“…Did he die sitting down?”
I heard the murmuring, but the fact that my heart hadn’t stopped was proven by my very active blood circulation.
My face had turned bright red.
It was so hot it felt like it might burst if I left it alone.
‘If only there were a mouse hole I could crawl into…’
There was nowhere to hide.
Then—
‘At least I should avoid being caught on screen…’
I lowered my head. But the camera stubbornly lowered its angle, chasing me.
I tried shifting this way and that, but it was an angle I couldn’t escape.
In the end, I gave up.
‘If I can’t give up people’s gaze, I’ll give up my own gaze.’
I raised two fingers and tried to poke my eyes.
But even that was blocked by my glasses.
“Pwahaha!”
“Is this modern art?”
“Ah, I’m losing it, seriously. Heh.”
At my desperate struggle, laughter burst out all around.
Just when the hellish VCR ended and I thought I could calm down a bit, a staff member handed me a microphone.
The MC on stage asked,
“Ryu Sunho! Do you remember that video?”
“Ah… yes…”
Only then did a faint memory surface.
It was before I even entered elementary school—when I was really little.
People in our village and my parents were incredibly excited because TV filming was coming to our neighborhood.
While they were filming my parents farming in Chungcheong Province, the reporter spotted me watching from behind and said I was handsome, then made me do this and that.
I think I got excited because I’d be on TV and—without knowing any better—I even did the robot dance that was all the rage back then…
‘And now it gets dug up like this.’
It was such an old memory that even I’d completely forgotten it—especially if you count the regression too—so how in the world did they…
The MC asked me again, teasingly,
“With evidence right there, shouldn’t you be disqualified from the Rookie Award nominees?”
“Seems like that kid is… more like an Entertainment Awards Rookie nominee…”
“Puhak!”
“True. If he was this funny, he belongs in variety.”
At my answer, the hall turned into a sea of laughter again.
My face was already hot like a live volcano.
“Hahaha, you’re speaking so calmly, but your body can’t lie. Can we get Ryu Sunho’s face on camera?”
I tried dodging again with a moving escape, but of course the camera was faster.
In the end, I let myself be caught on camera.
“Ah, with those red, ripened cheeks in that styling, you kind of look like the male lead from A Sudden Shower, don’t you?”
The female MC finally rescued me from the trap.
“Stop teasing him and proceed with the announcement. If you tease him any more, it looks like he might have trouble breathing.”
“Understood. Then please, our presenter will now announce the Rookie Award.”
The presenter, who’d been smiling, turned serious and announced the winner.
“MBS Acting Awards—Best Male Rookie Award! The winner is… Ryu Sunho from Possessed Investigation!”
My name was called for the Rookie Award I’d wanted, but my feet wouldn’t move easily.
It felt like…
like they were telling me to go up on stage after stripping me naked.
I wanted to run away, but I still had to accept what I’d won.
Refusing the award wouldn’t erase my black history.
“Hoo……”
As if bracing myself, I let out a long breath and trudged up onto the stage.
The presenter, holding back laughter, handed me the trophy.
I avoided his eyes like I hadn’t seen it—
and now, the cool acceptance speech I’d prepared…
‘What was I going to say…?’
From the shock, I completely forgot the acceptance speech for the Rookie Award—an award you only get once in your life.
Ryu Sunho completely botched his Rookie Award acceptance speech.
But—
“And the Scene-Stealer Award goes to… just as expected. Ryu Sunho from Possessed Investigation!”
“Waaaah!”
Fortunately, the chance to make up for the ruined solo acceptance speech came again.
“First, I’d like to thank the Possessed Investigation production team for making such a great work so I could receive this precious award…”
Ryu Sunho was able to share the honor with everyone he was grateful to.
In the end, Ryu Sunho even won the Scene-Stealer Award, achieving a triple crown on his own.
And after that, Possessed Investigation’s run of awards didn’t stop.
Park Juwon took the Top Excellence Award, and Seo Yunha won the Grand Prize.
Without any upset, the main character of the MBS Acting Awards was Possessed Investigation.
The heat of the awards ceremony—which had become a feast—carried straight into the afterparty, and the reunited Possessed Investigation actors and staff celebrated for a long time, sharing their joy.
“Sunho, you’re really going for it today, huh?”
“…I’m thirsty for alcohol.”
“Is the robot dance powered by alcohol?”
“……”
That day, rumors spread that Ryu Sunho drank in pairs at the afterparty.
No one knew whether it was because of the joy of a triple crown, or to erase his black history.
While Ryu Sunho returned home and fell asleep suffering from nightmares,
online communities and SNS were plastered with Ryu Sunho’s name, and when morning came, articles poured out as usual.
[At the MBS Acting Awards, Ryu Sunho wins three crowns—new star born through Possessed Investigation]
[Possessed Investigation’s Ryu Sunho takes three crowns in one go… monster rookie stormed the Acting Awards]
[Ryu Sunho’s name called three times at the Acting Awards… swept from Rookie Award to Scene-Stealer]
-Monster rookie, acknowledged. Strongest impact among recent rookies.
-Acting, buzz, star power—nothing missing.
-The male-actor scene in its 20s has been in a drought lately, but a rookie worth looking forward to finally showed up.
-But in entertainment, if the next project flops, you get buried, so we have to watch long-term.
└Yeah, there are tons who get “actor disease” and crash hard.
└Possessed Investigation itself got eight crowns. The work effect is there too.
└We still need to see the next project, yeah.
-Honestly, no argument on Rookie and Scene-Stealer. Has there ever been an actor who showed that much presence in only four episodes?
└Yeah, Ryu Sunho deserved all of them—except Best Couple.
└Even Best Couple had a good story. Among all Best Couple awards so far, it was the most meaningful and moving moment.
└But Best Couple was seriously unexpected lol.
Like someone said, what lit people’s hearts up the hottest was the Best Couple acceptance scene with Actress Park Dusim.
Even amid the shocking news of a rookie’s triple crown, that moment alone stood out as a moving scene that crossed generations.
[Veteran actress Park Dusim wins Best Couple with rookie Ryu Sunho… even the touching bracelet story]
[A legendary Acting Awards moment… Park Dusim chokes up: “Still young,” wins Best Couple with Ryu Sunho]
[Park Dusim cries after receiving bracelet gift from Ryu Sunho… a Best Couple that crossed generations]
These articles had comments from different generations side by side.
-Yes. This is the kind of emotion an end-of-year awards show should show.
-I watched with my mom and we both criedㅠㅠㅠㅠ I’m a Ryu Sunho fan and my mom’s a Park Dusim fan, and we were both happy for themㅠㅠ
-After seeing only negative news that constantly pits generations against each other, watching something warm like this makes life feel worth living.
-I’ve been a longtime fan of Park Dusim, and seeing her meet such a good junior and cherish him makes me happy too. That young man Ryu Sunho seems so upright and deeply polite.
-I hope the two of them meet again in a drama as mother and sonㅠㅠ
└Oh, that’s great. Please!!!
└Drama writers, are you seeing this!!!
But it wasn’t only a wave of emotion.
There was another video people went crazy over.
[A Rookie Award winner doing the robot danceㅋㅋ Ryu Sunho’s rural kid past video] │ Views 2.3 million
A showtime that arrived right after the emotion.
The black-history footage the vicious production team dug up got preserved on YouTube, racked up huge views, and even climbed into real-time trending videos.
-ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ This isn’t an awards show, it’s an execution lolㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Ryu Sunho has great hit reactionㅋㅋㅋㅋ the finger-to-glasses eye poke lolㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-Ryu Sunho’s debut was flashy… debuting with robot dance on 6 PM Our Hometown…
-He won Rookie and then blanked so hard he couldn’t even talk properly because of that lolㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-But the dad’s line in front is hilarious tooㅋㅋㅋㅋ “Just born so the joints are fresh”ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Dad’s banter is no joke—would love father-son variety later.
-But Ryu Sunho probably dressed up to the max because it’s an awards showㅠ and they make him sit there and play a past video from when he wasn’t even a rookie, but a total civilian, in front of all those peopleㅠㅠㅠ
└ Agreed. Since it’s a broadcast, you can’t swear, but I would’ve failed to control my expression.
└The MC is too much—tone it down, why embarrass him like that while laughing in his face?
└Ryu Sunho posted on Instagram after and said it was fun, so stop accusing the MC and just laugh it off.
As the high view count proved, people’s reactions were hot—and pretty positive.
People felt the reversal charm in how completely opposite it was from Kang Seoho’s brutal look, and they liked it, calling it not a “black history video” but a “falling-in video.”
Of course, it probably wasn’t the result he intended, but it definitely had a positive impact on both buzz and favorability.
In conclusion, the MBS Acting Awards were a massive success.
In both buzz and ratings, it overwhelmingly crushed KBC, which held their acting awards on the same day.
So for MBS too, it couldn’t help but feel like a festival.
In the faces of employees walking the hallways, satisfaction outweighed fatigue.
And in the Director of Programming’s office at MBS.
[Dominates both ratings and buzz… MBS Acting Awards, a perfect year-end finale]
[KBC Acting Awards failed to overcome the MBS wall… year-end battle ends in crushing defeat]
[MBS Acting Awards becomes a “legendary ceremony”… from discovering rookies to cross-generational emotion]
A pleased smile formed on the Programming Director’s lips as he scanned the internet news articles.
Then he spoke to his secretary.
“Have the entire Acting Awards TF team assemble in my office.”
A little later, the Acting Awards TF team entered the Programming Director’s office with expressions mixed with tension and anticipation.
The Programming Director stood and applauded them.
“Everyone worked hard. You wrapped up this year’s harvest properly. Yesterday, in both ratings and buzz, we overwhelmingly beat KBC.”
With a satisfied smile, he pulled a thick envelope and a corporate card from his desk drawer and handed them to the TF team leader.
“This is a bonus. And this card—no limit today. Go enjoy yourselves as much as you want. Thanks to you, my shoulders are puffed up.”
“Thank you! Director!”
Holding back their cheers, they headed to a beef restaurant near MBS as soon as they got off work.
Joy was all over the TF members’ faces.
They clinked glasses, praising each other’s contributions from all sides.
“Seriously, Variety PD—suggesting we focus on fun everyone can enjoy was a god-tier move.”
“And the Park Dusim–Ryu Sunho Best Couple idea was totally insane. That story is why people said it was an Acting Awards that even delivered emotion.”
“It was all of us working together. If it were just me, it would’ve only been a silly idea.”
“Hahaha! Either way, getting the year-end bonus too—this is amazing!”
In the cheerful atmosphere, the Variety PD suddenly asked Junior PD Kim—who’d unearthed Ryu Sunho’s black history.
“But PD Kim, how did you even find that video? It’s old material—it wouldn’t have been easy to find even in the archive.”
PD Kim’s face was already flushed, like he was drunk.
He stuffed a wrap into his mouth and chewed, then, borrowing the alcohol, confessed the truth.
“Th-that… actually, I didn’t find it. We got a tip.”
“A tip? Who tips something like that?”
“It was… someone named Ryu Seungdeok…”
“Ryu Seungdeok…? Who’s that…? Wait. Don’t tell me…”
PD Kim grinned.
“The main character who appeared in the video. Actor Ryu Sunho’s father.”
Meanwhile, Han Seungwoo was sunk deep into the sofa in his hideout, scrolling through a tablet.
He searched “Ryu Sunho Acting Awards” and browsed the articles pouring out in real time with interest.
The first thing that caught his eye was red carpet coverage.
[‘Nerd beauty’ explodes on the red carpet… rookie actor Ryu Sunho captures women’s hearts]
[Ryu Sunho hits women’s hearts with suit + glasses… dominates the red carpet]
“Pfft, nerdy charm.”
Han Seungwoo laughed as he looked at the photo of Ryu Sunho with curly hair and thick-rimmed glasses.
“Well, it does suit him.”
Just as Han Seungwoo assessed, praise for Ryu Sunho’s style was pouring in the article comments.
-Nerdy charm is insane… want the glasses preserved.
-Dressing him like that makes him look like a different person. Pure and intellectual vibes coexist.
-I knew he was handsome, but I didn’t know he could pull off styling like that so perfectly.
-He always shows something new, so stanning never gets boring…
As he scrolled through the sea of compliments, some people started showing curiosity.
-But is there a reason he’s growing his hair like that? If he trims it, it’d look way cleaner.
-He was growing it at the wrap party too—seems like he’s still growing it. Something going on?
-I looked it up—seems like he’s growing it for his next project.
└Right. He’s filming the movie Vacuum State right now, and apparently his role is a reclusive loner, so he has to keep his hair like that.
When the last comment solved the mystery, it started turning into anticipation.
-Ah, that movie where he went head-to-head with Bae Seonggeon?
└Watch your wording;; it means head-to-head in acting.
-A reclusive loner role? That’s the total opposite of Kang Seoho, then?
-Our actor works like an ox. Drama ends and he goes straight into a movie.
-I’m kind of looking forward to it. What the rumored acting will look like.
Watching the red carpet styling naturally link into movie promotion, Han Seungwoo thought,
‘No way he calculated even that, right? Using awards styling to naturally promote the next project too?’
It felt like overestimating him, but with everything Ryu Sunho had shown so far, it also seemed possible.
Because he was a guy who always exceeded expectations.
As Han Seungwoo kept looking up related posts, he found new news in a community.
[Guys, but did you know Ryu Sunho has one more awards ceremony left?]
-Huh? What awards ceremony?
-Made it into the Entertainment Awards with black history?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-But the Entertainment Awards ended before the Acting Awards.
-Then is he hosting the year-end music festival?
-No, not that;;
-He’s participating in the Korea Advertising Awards.
└??? Why would he go there?
└As a presenter?
└No;; he’s participating as a nominee.
└???? Ryu Sunho? Why?