Chapter 162: Listen to My Song (1)
Chapter 162: Listen to My Song (1)
"Hello, this is Bong-sik!"
Han Bong-sik, a YouTuber with 1.4 million subscribers, looked into the camera with a bright smile and gave a deep, ninety-degree bow.
It was the same consistent greeting he’d used since he had only 140 subscribers.
His unchanging attitude, which stood in stark contrast to his massive subscriber count, was one of the things that appealed most to his viewers.
"The trailer for a drama I’ve been really looking forward to finally dropped today."
Seeing the viewers' reactions, Bong-sik wondered why they were saying they "didn't know" about this particular drama.
When people talk about the music rather than the plot, it usually means they aren't that excited about the show itself.
'Is that even possible?'
Bong-sik was a YouTuber who primarily reviewed movies and dramas.
However, that didn't mean he didn't watch other types of broadcasts.
Especially when it came to Ju Seo-yeon.
Bong-sik made sure to watch every single broadcast featuring Seo-yeon.
To be honest, at first, he had intended to milk her popularity since his views skyrocketed whenever he mentioned her, but lately, that wasn't the case.
Bong-sik had become a genuine fan of Seo-yeon.
Truly.
'Missing that last fan signing event is the regret of a lifetime.'
He had even enjoyed Dream Future, so he was incredibly disappointed that he couldn't make it to the signing.
Regardless, the reason Bong-sik had become a fan wasn't just because she was a good actress.
It was her eye for projects.
Seo-yeon had an uncannily good eye for picking scripts.
While there were cases where her acting carried a show, a project's success usually isn't determined by a single person's performance.
Seo-yeon’s acting was brilliant, but it shone because the projects themselves were equally outstanding.
Of course, Bong-sik acknowledged her acting skills, which were far beyond her years.
He simply valued her discerning eye even more.
'But people think Sky Garden is mediocre?'
The significance of Sky Garden for Ju Seo-yeon was immense.
Until now, she had played villains or prominent supporting characters.
Well, in the case of Dream Future, she could be considered a lead, but she wasn't the "protagonist."
But Sky Garden was different.
It was the first drama where Seo-yeon took on the titular lead role.
For an actor, the first time they lead a project is always special.
It also carries significant weight within the industry.
If an actor's first leading role is a total flop, producers and directors naturally start to have second thoughts about them.
'Something's not right.'
Because Bong-sik trusted Seo-yeon’s eye for scripts, he found the viewers' lukewarm reactions hard to understand.
At the same time, he grew curious.
Just what was it like to elicit such a response?
"Let's take a look first. I'm curious to see what kind of performance our Actress Joo will show us this time."
"No, no, I don't. I'm a movie and drama reviewer. I'm a fan of Ju Seo-yeon the actress, not the variety star."
Of course, Bong-sik had watched every bit of Ju Seo-yeon’s appearance on Golden Duckling.
He had even postponed his own broadcast to watch it live.
'Ju Seo-yeon’s family members have such great character.'
Maybe that was why a daughter like Ju Seo-yeon was born.
Though, it was a surprise to learn that her father, Young-bin, was a developer at Raywill Games.
As someone who used to play Raywill Games' titles religiously, it felt quite strange to Bong-sik.
Anyway.
"Wait, this isn't just a simple youth drama?"
The trailer for Sky Garden began to play.
It had been out for two days now.
The view count was just passing 300,000.
It wasn't bad.
But as for whether it was good... it was just average.
"The trailer views for the KMB Monday-Tuesday drama that was released recently... are already over 800,000."
Bong-sik had an acquaintance who worked at KMB.
Apparently, things were quite noisy over there lately, with talk of restructuring the drama department.
The Monday-Tuesday and Wednesday-Thursday dramas seemed to be crucial indicators for that internal competition.
Judging by the current numbers, the Wednesday-Thursday drama Sky Garden seemed to be lagging significantly.
'Is it Grand Game?'
A drama that critiqued the mammonism of modern society.
On top of that, they had heavily promoted it by casting the hottest actress of the moment, Go Mi-eun, as the female lead.
Watching the viewers' reactions, Bong-sik continued his review of the trailer.
"The color palette is much gloomier than I expected. They definitely put effort into this. It feels like a movie."
It was as they said.
The cast of Sky Garden consisted mostly of young actors.
Naturally, many of them were unfamiliar to the audience.
And being "unfamiliar" was a very dangerous evaluation for a drama that needed to appeal to the general public.
"The drama definitely feels a bit unfamiliar. Usually, it's important to hook the viewers in the first episode. Just looking at the trailer, I don't really feel that..."
Bong-sik stopped mid-sentence.
The trailer's content was as follows:
At first, a large number of veteran actors known for their skill appeared, explaining the core plot.
In other words, they explained how important the character 'Lee Yu-ju' was.
To get into 'Baek-yeon University,' the top university in the country, one needed Lee Yu-ju’s study methods.
Essentially, they needed her portfolio.
The plot involved parents using their children to get close to her for that purpose.
That was the viewers' reaction.
But Bong-sik continued to watch in silence.
Out of the two-minute trailer, the first minute was mostly dedicated to explaining those 'motives.'
And then, the remaining minute.
Suddenly, a refreshing singing voice flowed out, and the protagonist, Lee Yu-ju, appeared.
「I heard your brother graduated at the top of his class at Baek-yeon University. In the medical school, no less.」
「Yes.」
「You must be so proud. It’s truly an amazing feat.」
The atmosphere was different from what he had expected.
A conversation between two women that carried a strange, thriller-like tension.
In particular, the look in Lee Yu-ju’s eyes was hard to describe.
Bong-sik couldn't help but be impressed.
Her gaze was so intense that it didn't even feel like 'acting.'
「It is amazing. Truly.」
Her lips curled ever so slightly.
「Min-seo. Let's be close.」
The trailer ended with Lee Yu-ju’s low, quiet voice.
The song, sung in a clear voice, actually made the trailer feel even more chilling.
Watching the reactions, Bong-sik chose his words carefully.
And then.
"This is going to be the undisputed king of this quarter."
"Yes. Ah, I really enjoyed it. Why does this only have 300,000 views?"
Bong-sik had already reviewed the Monday-Tuesday drama Grand Game.
Since he hadn't reacted like this then, the viewers found his statement absurd.
Of course, Bong-sik understood why the viewers felt that way.
The Sky Garden trailer tried to show too much.
To put it bluntly, the trailer was a bit poorly edited.
But.
"It feels like a cable drama."
Bong-sik paused to gather his thoughts.
Predicting viewership ratings was like an annual event for him.
But this time, it was honestly hard to gauge.
"I'll bet that out of all the dramas coming out this year, Sky Garden will record the highest ratings."
Bong-sik laughed, giving an exaggerated reaction to the viewers.
However, this wasn't just a joke.
He was serious.
In fact...
'This Sky Garden might bring a new wind to public broadcasting.'
In the current climate where interest was shifting toward the OTT market, this drama might bring some of that attention back to public channels.
Bong-sik truly believed that.
And perhaps it was because of the words of a YouTuber with 1.4 million subscribers.
Or perhaps word of mouth was finally catching up.
[Sky Garden trailer achieves 1 million views in a week thanks to late-game momentum!]
[Who is the singer of the Sky Garden insert song? Interest explodes!]
That was when articles began to trickle out.
*
"Did you see the Sky Garden trailer?"
"The song was so good. I wonder if the digital single will drop when the drama starts?"
"Judging by the vibe, it doesn't sound like an idol. Is it a rookie singer?"
At school, conversations about Sky Garden were surprisingly common among the girls.
It seemed Sky Garden appealed more to them than Grand Game, which targeted an older demographic.
Above all, it was inevitable since the protagonist of that drama was in their very own class.
'Someone go talk to her.'
'If we ask who the singer is, she'll know, right?'
'But...'
Seo-yeon was sitting demurely in her seat.
Of course, as she listened to the girls' conversation, her lips twitched several times.
'That's me.'
It's me!!!
She desperately wanted to say it.
She wanted to run to the front of the class, bang on the lectern, and shout:
"Actually, I sang the Sky Garden OST."
"Wow, amazing!"
"I knew it!"
...Of course, Seo-yeon wasn't the type to go that overboard.
But at least, that was how she felt internally.
However, she couldn't do it because she had already made a promise to PD Lee Min-hwa of Sky Garden.
"Everyone is raving about the OST you sang, Seo-yeon. We're planning to reveal it more dramatically later."
"Dramatically? How?"
She didn't think a sudden "Ta-da! It was me!" would have much of an impact.
"I'm thinking of linking it with a variety show. Ah, right. I need to check your schedule. You've been very busy lately, haven't you?"
"Yes, a little bit. But it depends on what kind of show it is."
A variety show, though.
Honestly, she had planned to take a break from variety shows for a while, but if it was related to the drama, that was a different story.
"I'm still mulling it over. Your singing has improved so much, and I've been thinking a lot about how to showcase that to the public... Above all, you know our PD Shim, right? He's been hounding me to bring you on his show."
PD Shim Kyung-hoon.
He was the PD of a popular variety show currently airing on KMB.
Having been deeply impressed by MDC’s Golden Duckling, he had been pestering PD Lee Min-hwa lately.
Please, just let Actress Ju Seo-yeon appear on one KMB variety show!!
"...Well, of course, it's not just because of PD Shim's persistence. It's ultimately to make Sky Garden and you stand out even more."
"But the song... Na-hee unnie... I mean, Summer Girl also..."
"They're idols, so of course they have to be good at singing. The standards for idols are getting higher these days."
That was true.
Idols were singers, after all. Come to think of it, the term "talented idol" felt a bit strange.
'Just like "talented actor."'
Isn't it a bit odd to call an actor, whose job is to act, a "talented actor" just because they're good at their job?
"So, what variety show is it?"
"You've probably heard of it. Its popularity has dipped a bit lately, but it's still quite good for promotion."
When he said that, one variety show came to Seo-yeon’s mind.
Its ratings had dropped recently, but articles about it were still constant, and it had a loyal viewership.
"Masked Singer."
*
"Yeo-hee unnie."
At the words of her manager, who had been with her for over ten years, a woman with a disheveled appearance looked up.
The manager sighed at the sight of her.
She was going to be forty next year, but she acted no different than she did in her twenties.
When was she ever going to get married?
Wait, at forty, was that ship already sailing?
But she was a celebrity, and she still looked like she was in her early thirties, so it seemed possible.
Despite her messy appearance, she was practically the incarnation of self-care.
She was lazy in her daily life, but she was diligent about maintaining her looks.
Perhaps stimulated by a certain variety show she’d seen recently, she was currently busy applying a face mask.
He heard she’d even booked an appointment at a dermatology clinic.
'I think she mentioned Sua-Sua.'
But who was Sua?
A celebrity?
Since Yeo-hee, who usually had no interest in other celebrities, was showing interest, he was a bit curious.
"Anyway, a singer needs to sing."
"It hasn't been that long since my album came out."
"Don't you know that solo singers are quickly forgotten these days if they don't work hard on broadcasts? There's no place for us because of all the idols."
"I know that."
The woman called Yeo-hee yawned and sat up.
Still, if her manager was saying this, it meant there was work.
'I was thinking about retiring.'
She had been thinking about just living off her savings and traveling.
If she hadn't seen that one variety show, she surely would have.
"For the first time in a very long time, you've been scouted for a variety show."
"Oh, really? They've lost their touch."
"They scouted you because they haven't lost their touch, so you have to do it."
"Look at you."
He sure had a way with words.
Yeo-hee narrowed her eyes and looked at her manager.
"Fine, what is it?"
"Masked Singer."
Ah, was it okay for a professional singer to go on that?
She thought that for a moment, but then realized that all the truly talented singers had already appeared on it.
Lately, it felt more like a comeback program for celebrities who had gone into hiding after some scandal.
Because of that, the ratings had been steadily declining as fewer top-tier singers appeared.
"I'll do it, then."
"Whoa, really? I thought for sure you'd refuse!"
The manager said that, then suddenly noticed a song playing in the room.
It seemed to be on a loop, the same voice playing over and over.
"Is that a rookie? The voice is nice."
"Uh, yeah? A rookie? I guess she's a rookie?"
"Really? But I feel like I've heard this somewhere before..."
Of course, the manager couldn't quite remember where he had heard the song.
After all, it was just a short insert in a two-minute drama trailer.