First Fan Meeting (3)
-This fan meeting is overflowing with stuff to see all on its own T_T
-Instant polaroids, a real live performance, and even joint acting with a detective fan ㅠㅠㅠ
-That triple combo alone feels worth the 500,000 won T_T
-Wasn't that rehearsed with the detective fan beforehand? I got chills watching the acting
-Better than any Cha Do-jin fan service? Now I wanna see a remake of Illegal's fan service with that detective instead
-You too? Dude, me too
The atmosphere in the venue shifted completely.
The negative whispers and stares directed at Oh Tae-woo had vanished entirely.
Kim Yu-ri, mustering her courage as he sat down beside her, asked quietly.
"You're a detective, mister?"
"Not a mister."
"How old are you?"
"Hey now, what kind of girl asks a stranger's age like that?"
"So, thirties up or down?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Thirties above or below, which one?"
"Whoa, do I look that old? Well, my family does age well."
This guy's kinda... approachable?
Kim Yu-ri slapped away the sudden fondness bubbling up inside her. Approachable? No way.
Still, the outright terror she'd felt earlier was completely gone.
The next on-site acting segment was the final scene from Haegeuk: the one where he strangles his nephew to death.
They first showed highlight clips on the big screen, then called for volunteers.
This time, before anyone could even suggest it, 199 hands shot up. Oh Tae-woo didn't raise his.
"Number 187, come on up."
"Whoa! Whoa!"
Jeong Seo-hoon pointed to a male fan, who jumped up joyfully, while the female fans let out envious sighs.
The male fan took the joint acting seriously, but it didn't trigger full immersion—no fainting this time.
Still, the fans were thrilled to witness one of Jeong Seo-hoon's iconic scenes live up close.
<Ask Jeong Seo-hoon Anything!>
Next came the free Q&A session.
Ten winners drawn by lottery got to chat freely with Jeong Seo-hoon.
"I'd love to give everyone time, but even one minute each with all 200 of you would eat up over three hours. Bear with me, please."
The first lucky winner was Kim Yu-ri.
Overjoyed at hearing her number called, she made a fatal mistake in her excitement.
"What do you teach in electrical engineering?"
"First, I'll explain what electric and magnetic fields are."
Jeong Seo-hoon's eyes sharpened instantly. He had a portable whiteboard stand and markers brought out, switching to full lecture mode.
"Magnetic phenomena appear in texts from 2000 BCE, and electricity from 700 BCE in ancient Greece..."
First, spark curiosity about the topic in the listener, planting the seed of interest.
Then, nurture it carefully until it sprouts into a stem of true learning desire.
"Auroras are actually plasma particles from the sun drawn by Earth's magnetic field, colliding with atmospheric particles..."
The seated audience and streaming chat had fallen silent.
But no one was distracted.
Everyone listened with wide-eyed fascination.
"These four partial differential equations are the famous Maxwell's equations, beautifully proving that light is an electromagnetic wave..."
No one grasped every detail perfectly.
But everyone was hooked on Jeong Seo-hoon's lecture.
As the fans—online and off—sank into a trance from his perfectly digestible explanations,
"Alright, that's taking too long—next question."
Jeong Su-ryeon grabbed the mic and cut in, finally snapping the fans out of their drug-like trance.
"Whoa, that was tough. I didn't understand a word... but it was fun."
"If I'd had private lessons from the prof, I'd have gotten into Korea University too. It just sticks in your head."
The second Q&A winner was Oh Tae-woo.
Fans eyed him like, That guy again? But he stood tall confidently.
His massive frame made him impossible to miss.
Jeong Seo-hoon calmly watched the faint tremor in his eyes.
The unease from the improv acting lingered.
"That final Haegeuk scene you did earlier. The nephew-strangling one."
"Yes."
"Watching the drama, that silent stare at the dead nephew felt... familiar."
"Hm, I'm not drawing from real kills. I'd be on your tail if I was, detective."
Light laughter rippled, but Oh Tae-woo stayed stone-faced.
"Thought about it, and it matched the vibe exactly when the Grand Prince first sneaks a peek at the baby nephew."
Soft "oohs" echoed around, and Oh Tae-woo pressed on.
"Seo-hoon—er, Grand Prince—were you already thinking about eating the nephew back then? That's what I really wanna know."
"Detective's got that interrogation vibe. Grilling the Grand Prince, huh?"
"He's a murderer, so yeah."
More light laughter.
"Spot on. I—or the Grand Prince—had that urge from the start. Suppressed it the whole drama."
"Whoa..."
"Knew it..."
"Not sure about the PD and writer's intent, but my Grand Prince's survival instinct twisted into power lust, then pure hunger to devour the nephew. That's my take on Jeong Nan's arc, from start to finish."
Oh Tae-woo tossed out casually:
"So, was it tasty?"
Before fans could process, the 'Grand Prince' rumbled deeply:
"Tasty? Hell yeah—the delicacy of the realm."
Dead silence blanketed the room, teetering on awkwardness, until Oh Tae-woo flashed a thumbs-up.
"Just stick to acting. Don't waste that talent on professoring."
"Pfft-haha!"
"Ahaha! Ahahak!"
Tension shattered in waves of laughter as Oh Tae-woo sat.
After Q&A, the guests arrived in force.
Han Seo-hee and Lee Seo-hyeon entered together to applause, flanking Jeong Seo-hoon and hitting fans with envy and vicarious thrill.
Post-Grand Prince and wives talk, Chae Ji-hyun returned.
The brigade leader's flirty tease and the deputy commander's curt rebuff sparked deep fan feels.
"Next guest: Ballad Prince Baek Hyeo-seon!"
Backing track flowed as Baek Hyeo-seon entered singing his album's second title track.
As everyone swayed along, Jeong Seo-hoon suddenly took the bridge, sending fans into silent screams of joy.
He infused resonance, maxing out the emotion. After, Baek Hyeo-seon grinned slyly.
"Stealing my songs? I've done it plenty, but damn, feels different on the receiving end. Seo-hoon, become a singer. Got it?"
"Too busy for that."
"Drop one album as a test. B-livers got firepower—taste those royalties, you'll change your mind."
"Yes, everyone—that was Ballad Prince Baek Hyeo-seon. Big applause!"
After Baek's breather performance, another guest.
Yoo Jeong-ah, in a skin-tight black dress flaunting her figure, strode confidently to Jeong Seo-hoon's side.
Right then, the VJ nailed Oh Tae-woo's face on screen—venue jumbotron and stream alike.
Oh Tae-woo's beaming grin lit up every fan, online and off.
Except one: his sister Oh So-hee.
"Go to Yoo Jeong-ah's fan meet! Why crash Seo-hoon's and skip mine?! If you hadn't gone, I'd have taken that spot!"
"Hey, that's too far."
"Sseung-zzle ggeubz mmeolreugu..."
Jeong Seo-hoon happily invited Oh Tae-woo onstage.
Couldn't ignore those fiery Put me up! eyes.
That earlier unease? Gone.
Probably thanks to Yoo Jeong-ah.
Beside her, the 190cm+ giant looked like a shy teen boy.
Jeong Seo-hoon and Yoo Jeong-ah flanked him for photos; she even gave a light hug.
Oh Tae-woo, blissed out, wandered toward the exit instead of his seat.
Neighbor Kim Yu-ri jumped up, yelling:
"Detective mister! You can't just leave after seeing it all! Get back here! Hurry!"
"Whoops, spaced out."
Oh Tae-woo scrambled back amid roaring laughter.
Yoo Jeong-ah wrapped her guest bit and exited; event staff wheeled in hand-carts stacked with boxes.
"Now we'll distribute the instant polaroids from earlier. Peek inside to confirm—no swaps."
Luckily none swapped; fans teared up over the meaningful gift.
"Standing like that for the pic... feels like wedding photos."
"Yeah. In prof mode earlier, he looked like a groom-to-be."
As frames were handed out and vibes settled,
Jeong Seo-hoon spoke again.
"Sadly, time to wrap up."
"Finally, not an entertainer, but someone who's supported my acting in meaningful ways. You might not know him, but he's been with me since freshman year..."
"It's the prof."
"Prof incoming."
"Villain time. Villain entrance timing."
"The man who quit his Caltech tenure to return and nurture the next gen—my most respected mentor, Professor Lee Se-jong of Korea University."
Unlike others, Lee Se-jong entered from the opposite exit.
He strode down the aisle parted by fans.
The Imperial March—theme of the iconic space movie's main villain and hero's true dad—boomed majestically.
Each slow, deliberate step held fans breathless.
Like a supreme commander reviewing troops, exuding dignity.
"Greetings. Lee Se-jong, professor at Korea University—and Jeong Seo-hoon's advisor."
His measured, dignified tone subtly tightened throats.
Lee Se-jong gave a concise speech blessing Jeong Seo-hoon's acting and fandom. Lulling fans into ease.
Just as tension eased...
"Jeong will start a new drama soon, but I expect him to splendidly concur his integrated master's-PhD and acting career."
The professor dropped the bomb.
Dwelling extra on "concur" with crisp enunciation.