Chapter 156: Image Improvement (3)
Chapter 156: Image Improvement (3)
As the footage of Young-bin riding the "Gyro Drop" was broadcast on national TV, the online communities literally began to go up in flames.
It was only natural, considering Seo-yeon—who was, for all intents and purposes, a slender high school girl—had hoisted Young-bin into the air along with his chair.
As for how Seo-yeon’s fans reacted?
Their reactions were mostly indifferent.
Since Seo-yeon’s fans had already seen what she was capable of, they just watched with a "I guess she can do that" or "She’s just lifting him~" kind of attitude.
Naturally, others were different.
While such reactions popped up frequently, those opinions were quickly buried. Most people were more focused on the sheer entertainment value of the scene.
Furthermore, after the Gyro Drop ride, the camera caught a glimpse of Young-bin looking half-dead.
As if anticipating such a reaction, the screen neatly transitioned to Sua’s perspective. Specifically, it was an interview the production crew had conducted with her.
"Oh, what my husband was wearing underneath back then?"
The crew nodded.
Sua smiled as if she were in a bit of a bind before continuing.
"He said it’s a stab-proof vest he bought through an international shipping site. You know, that popular mall these days. Pardon? Oh, yes, it really is a stab-proof vest."
She let out a troubled sigh, her delicate, slightly downturned eyes crinkling softly.
"Our child is so healthy that I think she accidentally tore it while playing with her husband. Since then, he wears it like that whenever he teases her."
Her words sounded like a mother talking about a lively daughter and husband.
Naturally, the community posts began to be flooded with question marks.
While such posts appeared, someone captured and zoomed in on the video of the collapsed Young-bin, revealing the specific model he was wearing.
Thus, a debate over whether a human could tear a stab-proof vest lasted for over two hours even after the broadcast ended. Ultimately, it was ruled as an impossible feat, and the torn vest remained a mystery.
People preferred to focus on the more "realistic" chair Gyro Drop.
Moreover, there was a group of people who took great pleasure in seeing Young-bin collapsed on the floor.
Players who had been burned by the game once before cackled with joy as they watched Young-bin being tossed around by Seo-yeon. They even encouraged her to do more.
It was ironic, but seeing him constantly getting owned while trying to tease Seo-yeon actually improved Young-bin’s image in an unintended way.
Perhaps because his image in the variety show was so strong, the name "Ju Young-bin" began appearing on real-time search rankings.
He was a development and planning team leader currently working at a game company, someone who had met with users once during a conference. Naturally, the production crew was curious about him as well.
They couldn't help but ask Sua, who was appearing as a guest.
"How did you meet your husband? I heard you two have been dating since high school."
"Oh, ah, yes, yes, that’s right."
Sua nodded repeatedly at Gong Hyung-man’s question. Every time she did, her chest moved along with her.
'Please, just answer with words.'
Gong Hyung-man sincerely hoped so. Would this part be edited out when it aired? It felt like there would be more scenes of just her voice than her full body.
"Did you two just meet at school?"
"Oh, well... I was the vice president of the game development club, and my husband... joined later."
"A game club? Ah, you said he was a developer. I heard Seo-yeon’s mother is also a programmer? That’s so cool~."
Sua smiled awkwardly at the panels' praise.
"Then when you were developing games, the two of you...?"
"No, no. I was focused on drawing back then, so it was impossible with just the two of us. I mainly did the art..."
Sua explained there were four of them. The president and Young-bin handled the scenario and planning, one person did the music, and Sua did everything else, including the art.
"Wait, there’s no programmer?"
"Th-that’s why I ended up doing that too... Of course, my husband learned later and we did it together."
"?"
Wait, wasn't the workload way too skewed toward Sua?
Despite that doubt, it seemed they had a fairly enjoyable school life.
"We fought a lot back then. All the members were girls except for him..."
"It was a game development club, but everyone was a girl?"
"Surprisingly, no boys joined."
Why was that? Sua was genuinely curious. Her friend, who was the president at the time, had many friends and was very popular, unlike herself.
"Are you still in touch with the other friends?"
"No, no. I don't think we've spoken in over ten years... Something happened."
"Oh, I see."
"Yes, yes."
Sua spoke with a slightly embarrassed expression. It wasn't that something bad had happened. It was just how things turned out.
The other two were doing very well for themselves anyway. One had become a web novel author, and the other had gone into music and become quite successful.
She mentioned that she was the only one who had become an ordinary housewife.
After the conversation between the panels and Sua ended, the screen returned to the footage.
Young-bin was collapsed, and Seo-yeon was looking down at him. It was a pose often seen in certain manga.
Seo-yeon’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the stab-proof vest. Just as she was about to drag him back up like a corpse to give him another Gyro Drop ride...
"Su-yeon is here!!"
Clatter! With the sound of the door, Sua, who had stepped out earlier, returned with her daughter from kindergarten.
The name "Ju Su-yeon" appeared in large letters on the screen.
Along with the caption "Turning 8 soon," Su-yeon’s bright, beaming smile made the viewers unconsciously break into silly grins.
Unlike Seo-yeon, who had a relatively cool impression, Su-yeon looked like a sunflower. She had the kind of face that smiled at everyone and made everyone smile back.
"Wow! Unnie, me too!!"
Su-yeon, seeing what Seo-yeon was doing to Young-bin, spoke up. Su-yeon loved it when Seo-yeon gave her "airplane rides." She seemed to have realized this was something similar.
At those words, Seo-yeon slowly shook her head.
"It’s too dangerous for Su-yeon."
Her voice was incredibly serious, which naturally triggered a hot reaction from the viewers.
Regardless, the sight of Su-yeon biting her index finger in disappointment or running around energetically was enough to be called "healing."
Moreover, since every single one of them had radiant looks, the whole scene was like a painting.
Unaware that he was being blasted like this, Young-bin scrambled up at the sound of his youngest daughter’s voice and sat back in the chair.
As Seo-yeon grabbed the chair again, he spoke.
"I was just thinking while riding this."
"You were thinking?"
What was he going to say now? Seo-yeon waited quietly for Young-bin’s words. She vowed that if he said something stupid again, she’d give him a roller coaster ride instead of a Gyro Drop.
"Let’s go to a swimming pool."
"Pardon?"
Wait, why a swimming pool all of a sudden?
"You know, that thing. The flume ride?"
"We’d have to go to an amusement park for that."
"But I just thought of a swimming pool."
"?"
"Come to think of it, we didn't even go to a pool this summer. Let’s go this year. You said absolutely not when you were going through puberty, so we couldn't go. It’s cool now, so it’s perfect."
Well, that was true, but... to pivot to a swimming pool here?
Anyway, the screen showed Seo-yeon contemplating. It was only natural, as it was such a sudden decision.
But the idea of a swimming pool felt quite nice. It seemed like there would be more content filming outside rather than just staying indoors.
'My image...'
She felt like she had failed a bit because of Young-bin, but a swimming pool would be more than enough to make up for it.
"Okay."
As soon as Seo-yeon nodded, a scene of them in swimsuits appeared on screen. Although it was blurred and didn't show much, it captured Seo-yeon, Sua, and Su-yeon running toward the pool.
And then.
[Next Episode! Ju Seo-yeon’s family goes to the swimming pool!]
The first episode of Ju Seo-yeon and her family ended there.
The viewership rating for the first episode of <Golden Duckling> featuring Ju Seo-yeon was a staggering 11 percent.
Not only was it the highest among recent episodes of <Golden Duckling>, but it also ranked among the all-time highest ratings. Considering this was only the first episode, there was a high probability it would break every record in the show's history.
A hit. A literal mega-hit.
"This is insane!"
"Producer Jeon Ha-young’s foresight... wow, that was legendary. Seriously."
While everyone in the MDC variety department was hugging and celebrating...
"Ah, when did I find out it was being filmed?"
Young-bin, who had been summoned after watching the broadcast with his family, said.
"...I just found out now."
How the hell am I supposed to go to work tomorrow? Young-bin was sincerely worried about that.
*
The Adiz advertising planning office had been busy lately.
After all, they had sponsored <Sky Garden>, and they also had to plan the advertisement for their new model, Ju Seo-yeon.
The concept was set; now they just had to film.
"Team Leader, they say our sales have gone up??"
"What? Why?"
They hadn't even released the ad yet. Did some YouTuber promote it?
Even as he thought that, the chairs hadn't even gone on sale yet. They were just starting to promote that they would be released soon. So how could sales be rising when the new model wasn't even out?
"Well, it’s the 'Ju Seo-yeon Challenge'."
"?"
"...It’s been a hot topic on YouTube lately."
"???"
Kwak Hyun-woo, the team leader of the advertising planning office, was bewildered. He had no idea how things were unfolding.