Same Dress, Different Class
It felt like insects crawling up her skin—vivid, unmistakable.
“What... is this?”
IP 85.152 had become a Revolving Door Audience member all over again with the teaser trailer. Having rewatched the video more times than she could count, she had noticed it.
Unlike Top Class, Strange Tales carried no real background music at all. It built its tension with nothing but ambient noise and dialogue.
“….”
Geum Bit-gang's expression in the final shot especially had felt like a hand crushing her heart. The sheer weight of it was staggering.
IP 85.152 searched for Gimyodam on the portal sites. The articles were already waiting, as if they'd been expecting her.
“This isn't it!”
But this wasn't what IP 85.152 wanted. Drawing a short breath, she turned thought into action.
“Nothing for it, then…. Every last one of them, half-finished…. How does something like this still not exist?”
[Create Minor Gallery]
She clicked the 'Create Gallery' tab tucked away in a corner of the site.
[Please enter a gallery name:]
IP 85.152 typed without a moment's hesitation.
[Your request to create the Strange Tales Minor Gallery has been submitted.]
[Approval will take 1–3 days.]
Today, once again, filming for Strange Tales continued in Namyangju. It was a market-scene day—the kind where past and present overlap on camera.
Thanks to that, No Jeong-yeon and Geum Bit-gang, Kwon Jun-hyeok and I were all gathered in one place.
Perhaps because the teaser trailer's reception had been so good, the set itself felt more buoyant than usual.
“A minor gallery already exists! Yeo-reum-ssi, what is happening!”
Director Jjang had upvoted every single post in the still-sparse gallery. The articles, too, were all ablaze with talk of scene-stealer Geum Bit-gang.
Even I could only marvel.
How had she expressed a shaman seemingly possessed by vengeance like that? Even watching that short clip had made my knees go weak. Geum Bit-gang, seated across from me, asked as if she couldn't have cared less about anyone else's reactions.
“So?”
“….”
“Don't tell me you still—”
“….”
I still hadn't found the answer to what my Seoryeong lacked, or why she couldn't reach one hundred percent. Geum Bit-gang clicked her tongue and let her displeasure show.
“This is what happens when you don't apply yourself during lecture hours!”
“…Pardon?”
“You let your mind wander during class, coast along half-heartedly—and of course you still can't hit a hundred!”
What is this, 'study only the textbook and you'll waltz into K-Arts'?
“W-well, Professor, Yeo-reum-ssi is technically still a freshman, so lectures alone can't—”
“You saw it yourself, didn't you? Even between freshmen, my conscience won't let me grade them the same.”
It was praise. Somehow, it was terrifying. It was praise, and it was genuinely terrifying. Coming out of Geum Bit-gang's mouth of all places, it was terrifying.
“Even so, learning step by step on set—”
“Step by step, my foot. When a kid who could run stands there gaping beside the ones barely crawling, you can't say things like that. She's only been pretending to crawl along with the rest, you see? That's why my stomach's about to burst—does it not burst!”
So she'd even noticed me coasting during lecture.
At some point Geum Bit-gang had coolly abandoned her meal and launched into a full lecture on my flaws.
“….”
Beside me, Kwon Jun-hyeok, who had been eating quietly, set down his chopsticks as well and sat through Geum Bit-gang's crash course on 'the scientific reason why being able but half-trying keeps your skills stuck in place.' He wasn't crying, but his face had gone a ghostly shade of blue.
“If you truly couldn't do it, I'd let it go. If you tried and failed, I'd let it go. But you? That's not the case, is it?”
“Aigoo, Bit-gang-ie~. More sour words again.”
There she is….
My savior….
A soft voice drifted over from behind. Kwon Jun-hyeok and I scrambled—no question of who got there first—to No Jeong-yeon, who tucked one of us under each arm.
“Professor, why are you only coming now…. I waited and waited, truly…. Through the cruel persecution of Yeomga, I waited for Jeong-an alone, I tell you….”
“Sob….”
Kwon Jun-hyeok wept quietly. By his standards, he'd held out a long while. No Jeong-yeon gave his shoulder a light pat and turned to Geum Bit-gang.
“So what you're saying, Bit-gang-ie, is work hard, right?”
“Not hard. Well.”
“Anyway~. Honestly, people. Shall we take a little stroll around the set today?”
“I haven't finished my mea—let go of this!”
No Jeong-yeon had already hauled Geum Bit-gang off toward the set. Only then did Director Jjang, Kwon Jun-hyeok, and I quietly remember how to breathe.
“Yeo-reum-ssi…, I'm so scared….”
“Me too….”
“Sob….”
Scariest of all is me. I really don't have much time left.
The climax of the final arc had to be shot well ahead of broadcast because of the CG work involved.
No matter how much I stretch it, by next month at the latest—
In that stretch destined to become Strange Tales' most unforgettable scene, the very last thing I wanted was to fail to grasp my own character and end up begging Geum Bit-gang for help.
But my schedule isn't just Strange Tales filming, either.
Faster Than the Law was about to open. Before its release I had to attend photocalls and other films' premieres to promote it, and once Gimyodam neared broadcast there would be variety shows and interviews on top of that.
And the provincial location shoot is coming up soon, too….
Time to focus on filming was already scarce, and now travel hours were piling on.
Everything had gone smoothly until now, but the gnawing impatience was unavoidable. What if my Seoryeong got completely devoured by Yeomga at this rate—
Jiing—. Jiing—.
“Ah, that startled me.”
No room to worry, huh. Is this what a star's daily life is? I looked down at the vibrating screen.
[The Elder]
Myeong Je-ha was calling.
Come to think of it, he did have a habit of showing up like this whenever something went wrong.
Maybe I can get some help this time, too.
Before the call dropped, I answered with all due respect.
“Elder, it's been a while.”
—What are you up to? On set?
“Of course I am, sir. And you—your film opens soon. Have you been keeping well?”
—Haha. Cut the act. Come to the premiere.
In his usual affectionate voice that somehow managed to be an order, Myeong Je-ha delivered his command.
“When? Let me check my schedule.”
—If it doesn't fit, pull something and come anyway, Yeo-reum.
His voice brimming with laughter, Myeong Je-ha went on.
—The Professor did say you were still lacking, didn't she.
I was momentarily struck speechless. How on earth did he know that?
—Graded generously, you're probably at a 90? That's about where you stand. And you haven't found the remaining ten yet.
As if he'd anticipated my reaction, Myeong Je-ha added lightly.
—Come find it in my film. Watch my face very carefully.
“…Understood.”
Watching Myeong Je-ha's film would complete my Seoryeong?
But what in a crime film was I supposed to look at to build a shaman? I couldn't fathom it in the slightest.
—By the way, the Top Class team is attending the premiere too. Well then, goodbye.
Oh. So Ki Joo-ye's coming.
“Oh my, then I really must get going! I'll be there for sure!”
Maybe the stress was finally getting to me, because a perfectly delightful idea for blowing off steam popped into my head. Find my Seoryeong—and pummel Joo-ye while I'm at it.
Ki Joo-ye's still more famous than me, so let's run the same-outfit-different-vibes viral play again.
[Senior Joo Jun-seo]
I picked up the phone.
Click—. Click—.
Ki Joo-ye sat comfortably in her van, monitoring the articles about herself. Her heeled feet swung busily back and forth.
“The reaction is amazing!”
Top Class had released an official one-minute trailer on top of its teaser. With broadcast only a month away, this was a title everyone had been waiting for, and anticipation was erupting from every corner.
The official behind-the-scenes still cuts had been uploaded to the minor gallery as well.
“Unnie, what place was I again on that list of most-anticipated celebrities of the year?”
“Uh…, right, so….”
“Ugh, so frustrating. Memorize things like that, I told you! You have zero professionalism.”
Ki Joo-ye searched up and clicked the article she'd seen before. Her name was languishing near the very bottom of the list.
Infuriating….
There was a time when Ki Joo-ye's name appeared before you even had to scroll. Because she'd been at the very top.
But the Ki Joo-ye of now was stuck sharing a line with some Han Yeo-reum nobody.
Me at ninth and Han Yeo-reum at tenth? Absolutely unacceptable!
The era when Ki Joo-ye was at her hottest had passed quickly, and now unfamiliar faces and unfamiliar names were elbowing their way into her spots.
Even some no-name rookie was sullying the value of Ki Joo-ye's name.
That spot… I'm taking it back.
Just thinking about how soon the whole nation would be buzzing about Top Class made her heart race already.
Ki Joo-ye's schedule was packed solid. She planned to appear on every kind of broadcast shoulder to shoulder with the great seniors, launching act two of her life.
This is my chance to ditch the idol thing and pivot to acting for good.
Keep idol activities to a minimum, milk the money while it lasted, and be perceived by the public as a graceful actress—that was Ki Joo-ye's plan.
Top Class. Even the title itself seemed made for her.
First, the War on the Rule of Law premiere—.
Just as she was smiling, an unfamiliar number lit up her phone.
“F***, it hasn't even been that long since I changed my number….”
An unknown number was a sasaeng fan, nine times out of ten. Ki Joo-ye jabbed the reject button with an irritated finger. Then a message arrived.
“Joo Jun-seo? Jun-seo?”
“Joo-ye, what is it?”
“Nothing—keep it down, would you!”
At the name Joo Jun-seo, Ki Joo-ye called back immediately. Before the ringtone had even finished its second cycle, the other end picked up.
As if he'd been waiting.
“What is it?”
—I'm calling about the War on the Rule of Law premiere.
“What about it.”
She answered curtly, feigning disinterest, but her expression was beyond hiding. A bright smile had already bloomed across her face.
That's more like it…. You do have to use that head of yours, Joo Jun-seo.
Judging by his reaction, he had only just now realized the synergy of the two of them sticking together.
—You said the other day we should match outfits. So you'll know what I'll be wearing, for reference.
“You were the one who said that was a bit much, if I recall. Honestly.”
—If you don't want to, don't.
“Who said I didn't want to? Sponsorship offers are pouring in so I can't say right now—just wait.”
Ki Joo-ye hurried her answer, afraid Joo Jun-seo's mind might change. Then she added one line to barely keep her spot at the top of the relationship.
“Until I contact you.”
And with that, she hung up. The humiliation Joo Jun-seo had dealt her on set seemed to melt away all at once, like snow under the sun.
“Unnie, send me the full list of everything I could wear to War on the Rule of Law. I'm picking starting right now!”
Han Yeo-reum's earlier insolence came to mind.
“It's your first acting challenge, sunbaenim, so you must be nervous…. I'll prepare a pretty styling for you!”
Even thinking back on it, a hollow laugh came out.
“Right. A pretty styling… you'll look forward to it, she said. Fine. I'll show her.”
Top Class had already overtaken Gimyodam with its early viral push. Han Yeo-reum, her designated point of comparison, would obviously be crushed on styling alone.
And so Ki Joo-ye picked the most glamorous, most beautiful dress on the entire sponsorship list. A rising designer brand that had been generating overseas buzz lately.
“Joo-ye-ssi! Hand waves! We'll do hand waves—!”
“Heart with your cheek!”
“Look here just once! Right side—!”
Clickclickclickclick— On the red carpet where the flashes never stopped, Ki Joo-ye answered every call with a satisfied smile.
It was thanks to Joo Jun-seo cooperating and coming out with her this time. Per Ki Joo-ye's orders, Joo Jun-seo had stripped off every piercing and ring, styled into the perfect accessory to her look.
“Everyone, enjoy the film—.”
Smiling and greeting the reporters, Ki Joo-ye was gliding up the escalator toward the War on the Rule of Law premiere screening hall when—
“…Huh?”
But the figure walking toward the red carpet from far away looked somehow familiar.
Han Yeo-reum was coming.
“…That dress…?”
Wearing a dress of the same design as Ki Joo-ye's.