Chapter 111: Live Streaming Explosion

‘Didn’t they say Yuina carries half of Turnshine’s popularity?’

If Ryu Gang-hyeok was responsible for half of Signature’s fame, then Yuina held the same weight for Turnshine.

Whenever they held a fan signing event, her line stretched endlessly, and there were even exaggerated tales—half rumor, half legend—claiming she once melted a Terminator platoon commander with her aegyo and earned the entire unit a special leave.

Whether the stories were true or not, Yuina didn’t seem the least bit afraid of Deok-su.

“Senpai, look over here~”

Yuina lifted her selfie stick at a familiar angle, and Deok-su struck a pose beside her.

When she checked the result, Yuina let out an awkward laugh at his stiff expression.

“Senpai, your face came out really weird.”

At her blunt remark, the other members gasped and rushed to apologize to Deok-su on her behalf.

They had heard that Kim Deok-su had changed, but since none of them had actually met him before, they were terrified.

Contrary to their worries, however, Deok-su chatted comfortably with Yuina.

Not ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠long after the Turnshine members left, music video director Han Seung-woo entered the set.

The man with a thick beard shook hands with Deok-su.

“I’ve been hearing a lot of good things about you lately. I have high expectations for today.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Filming began.

The concept of the music video was simple.

A plain woman transforms into a stunning beauty and kicks her cheating boyfriend to the curb.

On top of that, they planned to layer in Turnshine’s powerful choreography and vibrant pink and yellow color tones to create a visually rich experience.

Deok-su’s role, needless to say, was the cheating boyfriend.

Dressed in a sharp suit, he stood at the center of the set.

“Deok-su, that expression is perfect. Yuina, just a little more—lean forward a bit, look shy… yes, like that.”

Deok-su’s partner, Turnshine’s popular member Yuina, peeked up at him shyly from behind thick horn-rimmed glasses that covered half her face.

Han Seung-woo, who had been watching the monitor closely, picked up the megaphone.

“Cut. Deok-su, you know that feeling, right? Like, if your girlfriend’s ugly, you don’t want to be seen with her.”

“Boo!”

While some of the staff and Turnshine members playfully protested, Director Han Seung-woo laughed and gave Deok-su more specific directions.

“These kids. Anyway, give me the expression of a guy who’d rather die than be seen with his girlfriend. Got it?”

“Would it be okay if I say some lines?”

“Doesn’t matter. They won’t be in the final cut anyway.”

Once he had the emotion locked in, Deok-su met Yuina’s eyes through her glasses and flashed a rotten smile.

“Fuck. Just looking at you makes me lose my appetite. Sigh… Is this really all I amount to…?”

“Hic…! Hup!”

At Deok-su’s completely transformed voice and profanity, Yuina’s face turned deathly pale.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she even started hiccupping.

The assistant director sensed something was off and glanced at Han Seung-woo, but no cut signal came.

Instead, the director signaled the cinematographer to zoom in on both their faces.

“Aren’t you leaving? You…”

“Cut! That expression was perfect!”

Starting with Han Seung-woo, applause erupted from the entire directing team.

They had said they had expectations, but most of the crew hadn’t actually expected much from him.

Yet Deok-su’s expression just now was that of a boyfriend whose love had completely cooled.

“Hwaaaaaang!”

But the applause didn’t last long.

Yuina, who had collapsed to the floor, began sobbing bitterly.

In the sudden chaos, not only Turnshine’s manager but all the members came running.

“Here, blow.”

“…Hic…! Sniff!”

But Deok-su was faster.

He even used his own handkerchief to wipe her nose.

Everyone who had been rushing over froze at the senior’s unexpected kindness, and a few members clutched their faces in shock.

Regardless, Deok-su skillfully comforted Yuina, who in turn glared at him with all her might.

“That’s too much! I thought you were mad at me, Senpai… Hwaaang!”

They had gotten a good take, but filming was temporarily halted while they calmed Yuina down.

Turnshine’s burly manager took her away, and Deok-su headed to the waiting room with Lee Hui-yeong.

“Oppa, I can really see how much your acting has improved. If you can make a girl cry just with your performance…”

“…I didn’t know Yuina was such a crybaby. Well, at least we got one usable episode out of it. Consider it securing a variety show clip.”

Lee Hui-yeong, seated on the sofa, shifted into a more comfortable position.

“That’s true too. Wow, the Turnshine members really get along well. With girl idols, there’s ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠usually so much tension…”

“Right? One of them starts crying and they all come running… If they didn’t get along, they’d probably just be badmouthing her behind her back.”

Thanks to the Turnshine members stepping in, the situation on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠set was resolved much faster.

They even showed sincerity by personally buying coffee for everyone to apologize for the delay.

The cups in Deok-su and Lee Hui-yeong’s hands were proof of that.

Lee Hui-yeong spun her empty coffee cup around before cautiously speaking up.

“Oppa… I met Director Kang Ha-seong yesterday.”

At the heavy topic, Deok-su let out a low groan.

Kang Ha-seong was the director in charge of the entire idol division.

“What for? Wait, is it okay for you to tell me this?”

“You told me everything about meeting the CEO and the contract details. I don’t want to hide anything from you either.”

“…What did he want?”

“It’s obvious. He said he’d transfer me to Signature. Told me to learn properly under Manager Lee.”

Deok-su shot up from his seat without thinking.

“A-and? What did you say?”

“Hahaha. Don’t worry. I turned him down. No—actually, you should be nervous. I filmed the whole thing, oppa.”

Deok-su turned his chair to face her directly.

Director Kang Ha-seong was notorious for being tyrannical even toward his own employees.

“Enough with the jokes. There’s no way Director Kang would let it go that easily.”

“I’m not joking. What can he do if I say I don’t want to go? Sure, I’ll probably get on his bad side, but…”

“Hui-yeong…”

“Anyway, we’re both leaving in a year, right? You even shortened your three-year contract to one year in your head.”

“That’s true.”

Deok-su answered without hesitation.

In truth, he had seriously considered not renewing his contract at all.

If he hadn’t extended it, he would have been able to pursue acting as freely as he wanted, no matter how difficult it got.

But when he thought of his father, who had lived like a good-for-nothing, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

He never wanted to live a life like his father’s.

“CEO Kang will definitely try to force you back into Signature. One year feels a bit short for that, though.”

“At least they won’t be able to overwork me and burn through my image just yet.”

“Still, it’s too early to relax. If Director Kang decides there’s no chance of you returning to Signature, things will play out exactly as that scenario. I’ll cut out all the useless schedules, but…”

From what Lee Hui-yeong had learned, CEO Kang Sang-mi’s affection for Signature was immense.

After being transferred from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠JM Group to JMT, Signature was the first group she had personally debuted. The problem was that her affection tended to twist in strange ways.

“…Looks like I’ll have to work hard on dance and vocal practice from now on too.”

“I think it’s good that you’re adding more skills. It’ll broaden your acting range as well.”

“That’s true. It’s not easy staying under the company’s shadow. Thanks to that, I’ll probably get a lot more schedules…”

No matter which path he took, it wouldn’t be an easy road.

But he was certain.

With who he was now, he could definitely succeed through acting.

“Let’s do well for the next year, the two of us.”

Lee Hui-yeong smiled brightly at Deok-su.

“Cut. Min-ji, move with more energy.”

“I’m sorry.”

The camera, starting from Deok-su’s shoulder, panned toward the Turnshine members.

Because of the rails laid out all over the set, Deok-su carefully stepped out of frame.

“Do you know what you call a baby that was born from a god?”

“I don’t know.”

“A newborn god—wait, a god-born baby.”

“…Pfft!”

Deok-su skillfully led Yuina through the scene.

Director Han Seung-woo, who had been worried about countless NG takes, stroked his bushy beard and gave a thumbs-up.

“Cut. Good. Wow, Deok-su, even Director Park would approve of this.”

“You’re too kind.”

Director Han Seung-woo felt much more at ease.

In truth, when JMT suddenly insisted on casting Kim Deok-su, he had been extremely annoyed.

Their intentions were obvious.

His image was improving, so they wanted to put him in the music video to test the public’s reaction.

Still, for the production side, it was nothing but a hassle.

When a cast member was suddenly added like this, they had to revise the storyboard even if it meant pulling an all-nighter.

Yet this rolling stone had created a far better picture than the original plan.

“…Okay! Deok-su, let’s shoot the final scene.”

While the set was being frantically rearranged, the Turnshine members had gathered in front of a selfie stick, chattering away.

Curious, Deok-su walked over and saw their faces displayed on the phone screen, with countless chat messages scrolling beside them.

“Oh? Sunbae-nim.”

Han Na-gyeong saw Deok-su and instantly stood at attention.

“I told you there’s no need to stand so stiffly. What are you doing?”

“It’s Slive.”

Slive.

It was a star-exclusive live streaming channel operated by a major portal site.

Only then did Deok-su realize his face was being broadcast to the public, and he quickly turned toward the camera.

“Ah, hello. Is this okay?”

“Yes, sunbae-nim. Oh? Everyone’s greeting you.”

Amid the frantically scrolling chat, one comment stood out clearly.

“…Actually, I like women. I came here to film a music video with my juniors.”

It seemed the news of his contract renewal had spread. People were very interested in whether he would return to Signature activities.

Deok-su grinned.

“These days, acting is more fun. The kids are already doing well with Signature without me. It would be wrong for me to butt in and ruin the flow… I’ll have to think about it.”

As malicious comments kept appearing, Kang Min-ji and Han Na-gyeong looked at Deok-su with worry.

They wondered if their notoriously ill-tempered sunbae would explode any second…

But their concerns were completely unfounded.

“Then, could you all evaluate whether I have what it takes to become an actor?”

The reaction was explosive.

The viewer count shot past ten thousand, and the chat window scrolled so fast it was impossible to read anything.

Deok-su recalled one of the movie lines he had been practicing recently.

“You all know the movie Killer, right? I’ll show you the main character, Kang-su.”

He cleared his throat and began immersing himself in the role of Kang-su.

“Fuck. What a joke. Why the hell should you get to live?”

Deok-su’s low, icy voice froze the chat window.

No—it detonated it.

With the chat scrolling so fast it was invisible, Deok-su this time held the phone to his ear and let out a cold sneer.

“Ah, that bastard? He’s already dead, you son of a bitch.”

It was a completely different, frivolous tone from the serial killer’s voice just moments ago.

“Whoa…”

“Senpai…”

Even the Turnshine members, who had initially been afraid of Deok-su, were now looking at him with open admiration.

“How was that… Wait, I can’t read anything like this.”

Deok-su gently asked them to slow down, but once the chat had exploded, there was no stopping it.

“Filming is starting. L’Vyu-ssi—!”

When a staff member called for him, Deok-su waved at the viewers.

“It was fun. Next time…”

Although Deok-su disappeared from the screen, the aftereffects inside the Slive broadcast lingered for a long time.

And those aftereffects erupted in a completely unexpected direction.

In the drama production process, the most agonizing step was, without a doubt, casting.

This was especially true for writer Min A-ru, whose debut work had performed decently but whose second project had been a spectacular failure, making this current one critically important.

“…There’s no one suitable for Jin Dong-ho.”

She had flipped through the lists provided by the casting directors dozens of times, but no one caught her eye.

Even when there was someone, the price was the problem.

It was reality that a large portion of the production budget went to actor fees, but there was still a limit.

Every single reply she received was a rejection.

After wrapping up yet another day filled with rejections, she closed her laptop.

“These days, the Turnshine girls are the best.”

They happened to be doing a Slive broadcast.

Her favorite star, Yuina, was once again radiating cuteness.

“Hello~ We came to film the music video today. Everyone say hi.”

“Hello everyone~”

“…Yuina really is so pure today too. That’s part of her charm, but… wait? Who’s that?”

Suddenly, a handsome man was standing next to Yuina.

It was none other than Kim Deok-su.

‘Wow, that walking bomb? This should be fun.’

The rumors about Kim Deok-su were each more spectacular than the last.

It was a miracle he was still in this industry.

His name hadn’t even been on the list the casting director gave her. There were still too many risk factors.

He hadn’t been in her mind at all.

“Fuck. What a joke. Why the hell should you get to live?”

But the moment she heard Deok-su’s changed voice, her firm thoughts began to waver.

Even through the phone with poor audio quality, it was enough to make her hands tremble.

And that wasn’t all.

“Ah, that bastard? He’s already dead, you son of a bitch.”

The chat window had become impossible to read.

Kim Deok-su was exactly the Jin Dong-ho she had been searching for.

Moreover, his fee wasn’t high yet, so there was no need to worry about the budget.

“Hello? Yes, PD-nim. There’s someone I absolutely want to cast…”