Chapter 90: Youth Romance Drama (1)
Chapter 90: Youth Romance Drama (1)
The web promotion variety show for Dream Future aired and became an unexpectedly hot topic on the internet.
The plot was completely unpredictable.
More than that, for a show claiming to be a youth romance, it was pure chaos, featuring sudden outbursts of dance accompanied by singing.
Only two scenes had been released, but that was enough to set every drama-related community ablaze.
For the record, the match between the Actor Team and the Idol Team ended in a perfect draw.
It was a given that the Idol Team would achieve an overwhelming victory in singing and choreography.
The acting portion was somewhat neck-and-neck, but that was largely due to Ma Yeon-woo’s—as they say—terrible acting.
Normally, he would have been torn to shreds, but...
Gifs of Ma Yeon-woo’s wooden acting were circulating through every community.
The scene where he suddenly started dancing while walking.
The passionate dance moves he performed to Seo-yeon’s singing.
While Park Jung-woo’s team won the acting segment with their stable performances, the one who stole the spotlight was undoubtedly Ma Yeon-woo.
Thanks to that, Seo-yeon, who had assisted Ma Yeon-woo’s flashy dance moves, also became a hot topic.
Anyway, once it became this much of a sensation, YouTube "wreckers" and all sorts of outlets began sharing it, and analyses of what kind of work Dream Future actually was started popping up.
"Looking at this, it feels like they're aiming for a musical drama. This is quite fresh... What? It's not?"
"But it is a fresh attempt. Usually, what are dramas like? Most of the leads are older. Even high school roles are played by adults."
"But who is this? Oh, the child actor? Ju Seo-yeon? I know her. I saw her on a variety show recently."
One YouTuber took the bait.
A creator with a million subscribers.
It was Bong-sik, who mainly reviewed video content like movies and dramas.
To be honest, he hadn't been interested in Dream Future at first, but with the gifs constantly popping up, he couldn't help but take notice.
"Alright, let's do a proper review."
The YouTuber began watching the video from the beginning.
First was the much-discussed first acting scene from the Dream Future Idol Team.
"To summarize this scene: this girl, Jo Ha-rin, apparently has no talent. So she's feeling pessimistic, and Park Min-yul, who has a crush on her, comforts her by dancing... Wait, who wrote this script?"
The summary alone was deeply confusing.
Even for someone who had reviewed countless dramas and movies, he was momentarily flustered.
"According to the official website, this is a serious youth romance drama. Maybe I don't know what the word 'serious' means."
Anyway, after watching all the trending scenes, he nodded his head.
Since he had already seen the clips, the impact was lessened.
"Ah, I see."
"It's because both of them are still unskilled in their respective fields. Ju Seo-yeon with singing, and Ma Yeon-woo with acting. That's why it became even more bizarre. Look at Park Jung-woo’s side. There's no buzz. They just did a decent job."
That was the gist of it.
Of course, Park Jung-woo’s side also had clear weaknesses.
However, Kim Si-hwan’s character was someone whose specialty was singing.
Since Park Jung-woo himself was a decent singer, there was no reason for things to fall apart.
At most, the actress on the same team, Hwang Seol-ha, was a bit stiff.
"On the other hand, this side had the first scene, but there's a second one too."
If the first scene featured Seo-yeon and Ma Yeon-woo, the second featured Seo-yeon and Cha Na-hee.
It felt like they had made sure to include Seo-yeon because having two idols handle the acting alone would have been too much of a burden.
"You guys are being too harsh. This one is actually better."
Fortunately, Seo-yeon was the one dancing in this scene, so it was a bit better.
He didn't know why there was dancing and singing in every scene, but he figured that was just the kind of drama it was.
"That's why there aren't many gifs of this. At least the dancing you see meshes well with the acting."
"Looking at this, it's clear they aren't just joking around. They're serious, and honestly, it's like this: it looks like this now, but if it's filmed properly for the actual show, it'll be completely different."
This was something he could say because he was a video review YouTuber who had seen so many works.
"Right now, the singing and accompaniment are playing, but the camera isn't moving much, right? In other words, the scene itself isn't structured like a drama; it's filmed like a variety show that captures everything. Of course it's going to look funnier."
"So, if you take that funny scene and add drama-style directing and editing? It could change completely."
Of course, given the script, it wouldn't exactly be soul-stirring or amazing.
But it was certain that it would be much better.
"If both sides practice their weaknesses properly, I honestly think the results are worth looking forward to. I'm predicting... over 20 percent viewership ratings!"
There was a reason Bong-sik was so confident.
Ju Seo-yeon’s acting, and her dancing, are really good.
To be honest, he hadn't said it out loud, but he was inwardly shocked.
If he said everything now, he wouldn't have anything left to say when it actually aired.
She's still a high schooler? There's a reason she's already filmed a drama and a movie.
For the record, Bong-sik was the one who had reviewed Taesumdal back when he was reviewing classic dramas.
Seeing the child actor he had showered with praise grown up gave him a new sense of appreciation.
She has 'The Chaser' under her belt too. The singing is a bit of a concern, but everything else is so outstanding.
Park Jung-woo’s side was also steady in their acting, and that side would also look completely different once proper editing was applied.
He was certain they could surpass 20 percent.
"You can save this clip. I'm serious, it'll go over 20 percent."
As the words of the million-subscriber YouTuber Bong-sik—making the absurd boast of 20 percent ratings—were archived by viewers, Dream Future instantly became the most talked-about drama.
*
Inwardly, Seo-yeon had one concern.
What if I get terrorized by JustX fans?
There were many cases of malicious comments or petty "gift terror."
She worried about how to respond if she became a target.
I'd rather they just come to the school.
Thinking that, Seo-yeon suddenly wondered if she should learn self-defense.
She was already learning some at Cheonghong Action School, but she felt that might not be enough.
Moreover, the reason Seo-yeon had such thoughts wasn't just because she was worried about fan harassment.
"Nice to meet you!! I'm Low, the leader of JustX."
"My hyung is a lot of trouble, isn't he? I'm Do Ho-jin."
"Now, now, drink this while you work."
There was an instance where all of JustX visited the filming set.
Since Ma Yeon-woo was a member of JustX, they had brought the other members along to use them for promotion.
For the record, Killer Hong’s real name was Hong Yong-sik.
He supposedly used the stage name Do Ho-jin to hide his old-fashioned name.
Anyway, Ma Yeon-woo was playing a big role in the promotion in various ways.
The writer had suggested it might be good to include them as cameos at least once, but...
"Ah, that's a bit much."
Director Kim Pil-seok refused.
However, using them for promotion was okay.
It was a rough internet advertisement about Ma Yeon-woo—no, "Park Min-yul"—having a dance battle with the members of JustX.
And before filming, they had greeted Seo-yeon, who happened to arrive early and was waiting on set.
"You're Seo-yeon, right? I've heard a lot about you from Yeon-woo."
The drug-using idol.
"That's right, hyung talked about you so much."
Apgujeong Killer Hong.
"Wow, so this is what an actress looks like. I see why they say idols can't stand next to actors."
Gangnam Womanizer.
Naturally, Seo-yeon couldn't help but be tense when these people with such formidable "titles" appeared.
"Hello."
"Ah, yes. Please take good care of Yeon-woo in the future."
Of course, they were puzzled by Seo-yeon’s distant attitude, but they just nodded.
Does she look down on idols because she's an actress?
It was quite common for actors to look down on idols.
Especially a young high schooler like her; it would be easy for her to be influenced by that culture.
Thinking that, the "Gangnam Womanizer" Ri-hyun felt a bit displeased for no reason.
Should I give her a taste of my charm?
In his past life, he was a man who had seduced countless women at clubs and made the news five times for romantic scandals.
Later, he became famous for causing a sexual solicitation scandal at a club opened by a colleague.
He gave Seo-yeon a bright smile.
There had never been a woman who didn't fall for his smile.
"...?"
Receiving that smile, Seo-yeon frowned for no reason.
Knowing his "illustrious" career, she could roughly guess the intent behind that smile.
"Hey, what are you doing!"
Just then, Ma Yeon-woo rushed over and jumped between them.
"Seo-yeon? I mean, Seo-yeon-ssi? Anyway, don't bother her and just go, go, go."
"Ah, what? All of a sudden."
Ri-hyun was flustered by Ma Yeon-woo’s sudden action of pushing him away.
But Ma Yeon-woo was flustered for a different reason.
To be honest, he was terrified.
What is this crazy bastard doing to a high schooler?
Doing that to a minor usually resulted in a massive disaster.
Ma Yeon-woo might not have had the best personality, but he had no desire to see his career go down the drain.
A minor controversy was one thing, but this was too much.
Moreover, he could see Seo-yeon’s eyes starting to turn cold.
They were eyes that felt chilling whenever he saw them, and Ma Yeon-woo knew well what happened when you got on her bad side.
It just didn't show in the video.
Ma Yeon-woo shuddered.
Cha Na-hee would probably agree with him.
"Team Idol" was still continuing to some extent even after the advertisement was finished.
When they practiced their acting chemistry, the three of them always did it together.
"It's better for those who have already worked together once, right?"
Because Kim Pil-seok had said those words.
So, in this production of Dream Future, Ma Yeon-woo received a lot of help with his acting from Seo-yeon.
"Your eye contact is poor."
"...Eye contact?"
"You have to think about where the camera is."
Seo-yeon said as she demonstrated.
Every time she did, Ma Yeon-woo felt it.
She's a bit scary, but an actress is an actress.
There was definitely something about her that made it impossible to look away.
Cha Na-hee also listened intently to Seo-yeon’s words.
A model student.
Because Cha Na-hee was exactly like that, even the troublemaker Ma Yeon-woo had no choice but to behave.
Furthermore, Seo-yeon was strict.
Whenever Ma Yeon-woo made a mistake, he could see her eyes narrowing.
When she set a pose, she would manually correct it with her hands, and each time, Ma Yeon-woo felt his body creaking.
No, this is weird.
Ma Yeon-woo’s body was well-trained from dancing, but he couldn't resist Seo-yeon’s strength at all.
Seeing how she didn't shed a single drop of sweat even after dancing and practicing for a long time...
"Hey, Ma Yeon-woo. What are you doing?"
"Forget it. Just film the ad. I just saved your life."
"What are you talking about?"
Ri-hyun didn't understand Ma Yeon-woo’s words.
Saved his life? From what?
He harbored that question, while in Seo-yeon’s case...
The members get along well.
Even though they were criminals... she felt a little envious.
Lee Ji-yeon didn't like others clinging to her like that.
But looking at school, there were kids like that too.
Inwardly, Seo-yeon had that kind of romanticized ideal.
But soon.
Seo-yeon was full of confidence.
Through JustX, the number of students approaching Seo-yeon had increased in various ways.
Now, if she just got a little closer, she would be able to reach the territory of "friends."
While Seo-yeon was so confident...
The premiere of the controversial drama, Dream Future, was just around the corner.