The First Interview

The owner of the carnival was Ju Jun-seo.

"Why aren't you going in? What are you doing?"

"Just savoring the celebrity experience…."

"Cut it out and come inside."

Ju Jun-seo looked at me with an expression that said he couldn't quite fathom what he was seeing. But he probably had no idea—no idea how much an interview meant to someone who had scraped by as a nobody for nearly ten years before finally being caught.

"Yes! This is Daily Media. We've got your call."

"Wasn't that pushed back to next week?"

Daily Media seemed to be running at a frantic pace. Jun-seo's manager dashed off toward someone, who I guessed would be the reporter interviewing us today.

"Ah! Welcome, welcome. So glad to meet you both."

The reporter greeted us, handing over business cards.

"I'm Wi Jae-hwi with Daily Media. Feel free to just call me Reporter Wi. I've been really enjoying Pachehi, by the way. A friend of mine recommended it, and wow—you're both such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠good actors."

"I'm Ju Jun-seo. Thank you for the compliment."

"I'm Han Yeo-reum! Thank you so, so much for having us!"

I didn't even want to forget the feel of the business card clutched in my hand.

Though his face does look familiar somehow. Where have I seen him before…?

While I was puzzling over Reporter Wi's face, we were shown into the interview room.

"So you can loosen up first, I'll do the photo shoot after the interview. That way your expressions come out far more natural."

Reporter Wi explained as he opened his laptop. A single recorder sat on the table between us.

"All right, then. Let's start with the first question. Please tell us how you felt when you first came across Pachehi."

I answered everything I could possibly answer. I had never imagined there would come a day when I could explain my acting to someone like this. Answering the questions was pure joy.

The basement studio of Daily Media. Han Yeo-reum and Ju Jun-seo stood before the camera, ready to capture a few solo shots.

I did manage to snag a few natural shots in the interview room, but they won't be enough.

Interviews like this were supposed to rotate through several photos across multiple articles. You didn't cram everything into a single piece—you split the interview up and released it in installments. Reporter Wi raised his camera and framed Jun-seo in the lens.

Well, he really is a model. Ju Jun-seo, I mean.

Whatever pose Jun-seo struck, the results came out at a quality fit for a magazine cover. Just turning his face a few times produced shot after shot of polished excellence.

"Yes, that's it, Jun-seo—great!"

Click—! Click—!

The shutter fired in rapid succession. Checking the shots, Reporter Wi smiled with satisfaction.

"Now, Yeoreum, if you'd stand where Jun-seo was."

The photos taken back in the interview ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠room had come out naturally, but you never knew. Rookies often stiffened up the moment they stepped into a studio.

But that's half the charm of rookies, isn't it? Honestly, it's kind of adorable.

Reporter Wi decided to cut them some slack. And come to think of it, given Pi Chae-won's role in Pachehi, a certain stiffness might even work in her favor.

"Okay, shooting now. Look here—."

Then, after a few clicks of the shutter, Reporter Wi froze in surprise. Jun-seo was impressive, sure, but Han Yeo-reum knew how to use her body too. Not a trace of stiffness in her shoulders.

"Reporter! Could you get a little closer for this one? You know, that kind of thing—the fresh rookie vibe, something with a bright, beaming smile…."

She practically thirsted for the camera. Han Yeo-reum's eyes were sparkling.

"I'm sorry. This is my first interview, ever. I want to show my mother."

Reporter Wi readily obliged her request. A close-up on the face came out far better than a shot of the upper body anyway.

Han Yeo-reum's eyes were alive.

"Hey."

"Yes?"

"I'll drop you off, so get in."

Ju Jun-seo said, opening the car door. I didn't refuse—I hopped right in.

It was my first time riding in a celebrity's car.

Even the sound of it starting up feels different.

I busied myself admiring the interior.

One day, I'm going to ride in one of these too.

Why? Because I'm Han Yeo-reum, the first-ever exclusive actress of JC ENM, that's why…. Ah. So cool.

"Sunbae."

"What."

"When our interview comes out, could you tag me when you post it on your story? It'll help my follower count."

"…Can't you at least try to package a request like that a little better?"

"I'm sorry. It's just my first interview…. I got so happy I wasn't thinking. I didn't know you weren't supposed to ask for things like that…."

"Fine. I'll do it."

The moment I played the deflated, pitiful rookie, Jun-seo's approval came tumbling right out. Our eyes met in the rearview mirror—his manager's and mine.

She caught on fast, didn't she, Yeoreum….

All thanks to you….

An exchange of looks between accomplices who knew exactly how to handle Ju Jun-seo. And with that, I had successfully roped Jun-seo into my network as well.

Now, who else can I find? Someone who can help me catch up to Do Gyeo-ul faster….

It was only when I was nearly home, basking in the celebrity life inside that comfortable car, that it finally hit me.

"Ah!!! I remember now!!!"

Wi Jae-hwi. Reporter and drama-reaction InTuber. It had only just come back to me.

A few years down the line, Daily Media had ridden the surging wave of InTube's growth. The company opened an official channel as an organization, and it turned out to be a massive success.

It started out with reaction videos.

Later, as the channel grew, they began producing interviews with invited celebrities as well. And that wasn't all. They ran collaborations and all sorts of projects.

And the most famous of them all was Reporter Wi Jae-hwi.

Among the reporters who were labeled with simple letters—A, B, C—he went by FinallyStan.B.

What were the odds of such a grateful coincidence!

All right. That's one more person I can win over through connections.

I saved Reporter Wi's number from the business card I'd received.

The demographic most sensitive to trends. The demographic that would turn on you in a heartbeat if your marketing felt even slightly off. The demographic hardest to strike a balance between trendy and childish.

The teens—the very core of Pachehi's viewership. The impact of the four episodes released so far had begun rippling outward from that teenage center of gravity.

Above all, they wanted to copy Pi Chae-won's styling. In the drama, Pi Chae-won gave off the strange sense of being half shoujo manga, half real life.

A full bob in black, long straight hair—and for maximum realism, having shed her pastel-toned jacket, Pi Chae-won draped a pale gray cardigan over her uniform.

White sneakers, standing out against the brown leather school shoes worn by the other students, racked up staggering sales in a matter of weeks.

[Pi Chae-won Son Min-soo]

Before anyone noticed, the words "Son Min-soo" had attached themselves to Pi Chae-won's name.

A growing number of viewers were setting her photos as their profile pictures. The behind-the-scenes photos Yeo-reum had posted on her own social media spread far and wide.

And naturally, the advertising world caught wind of the consumers' response. Brands that built their image around teens and twenty-somethings began passing Pi Chae-won's name and photo around, one after another.

Han Yeo-reum. (Web drama. Lead of Pachehi.) Age 20, currently enrolled at Dae Arts High.