Level: Iconic Rookie
“CRAZY!!!”
And, pure instinct, I clipped it. It wasn't a drama scene, but there was no way I couldn't upload it to the account.
That evening, the clip uploaded to Ae-ta-mi's account spread across social media and the community boards, snowballing at a startling speed. And people clicked the link to the original video pinned beneath it.
Just as predicted, the reaction was explosive. In less than twenty-four hours, the view count blew past 150,000. The likes and the comments multiplied like something possessed — 7,762 and climbing.
Rookie Shin had called it exactly right. A brand-new genre had been pioneered yet again. And at the head of the pack stood Han Yeo-reum.
Jegal Rok reviewed the report. If he had to compress the immaculately organized file down to a single line, it would read this way:
'Success.'
Once again, the graph was drawing a clean upward curve. Both the view count and the subscriber numbers had climbed steeply since the video went up. Jegal Rok picked up his phone and spoke briefly.
"Send this back to the The Devil team. Ask them if they've had a change of heart about casting her."
He had received the original footage the very day Han Yeo-reum finished filming. It was hard to believe this was a low-budget content production. Jegal Rok had immediately extended a casting offer for the mystery film slated for release a few months from now.
"That one's a bit... hmm. For an interview, maybe, but introducing a movie through content like ASMR has real limitations. If we're careless, it could end up getting consumed as a meme."
But the answer had been a careful refusal. The immersion a space provides, the anticipation music builds, the empathy tight editing creates — with none of those effects to lean on, a single actor had to carry the entire video alone. There was no helping it.
Jegal Rok watched Han Yeo-reum riding the wave of buzz. On the monitor, Yeo-reum was still on screen.
"And have them pass along the revenue trends for Strange Tales (Gimyo-dam) as well."
The public is transparent. When they're interested, they move. Just like the reaction to Pachehi — they spread the word without being told, and they buy without being pushed.
Jegal Rok ran his eyes once more over the proposals from brands hoping to place PPL in the new web drama. In the box where the advertising fee was written, a number considerably higher than before had been entered.
[Revenue trends will be reported tomorrow morning. However, there is a meaningful change in the rankings. Strange Tales (Gimyo-dam), which had slipped outside the top 300, is currently seated firmly at #2.]
A link to the original web novel, Strange Tales (Gimyo-dam), had been placed beneath Han Yeo-reum's video.
Strange Tales (Gimyo-dam) had never been a standout performer. And yet when Jegal Rok skimmed the scenario, he had liked the version Team Leader Seong brought him — even though there were plenty of novels out there with far bigger view counts and far more devoted core fanbases.
It was pure instinct.
"It's number one."
When he opened the app to check, the rankings had refreshed in the meantime. A novel that had been pushed out beyond the bottom of the charts years after its completion now sat proudly in first place. He clicked into the comments and scrolled — every single one mentioned that video.
Jegal Rok gazed at the Strange Tales (Gimyo-dam) scenario resting on his desk, then opened the file. It listed every project JC ENM was planning to invest in going forward.
Click.
He clicked Strange Tales (Gimyo-dam), buried down at the bottom of the list, and dragged it all the way to the top. He wanted to bring this story out into the world with JC ENM's capital behind it.
"I'm revising all of the plans."
What this unbroken string of successes was saying could not have been clearer. New Wave. To open an era different from the one before, Han Yeo-reum was necessary.
"Project A. Let's launch the actor label."
It was time to create JC ENM's new label.
"Ohhh~~~ Yeo-reum~~~."
This was the set of Faster Than the Law. The moment I walked in, the crew greeted me in a chorus. Every last one of them, it seemed, had seen the Strange Tales (Gimyo-dam) video.
"Yeo-reum, what was that thing? A drama? A movie? Whatever it was?"
"Just a one-off piece of content. ASMR."
"What! But you're that good at it? And here I was wondering if JC was putting out another web drama!"
The crew's reactions were tremendous. Maybe it was because I was still a rookie, but far more people approached me without a second's hesitation now.
'So this is... what it tastes like to be the protagonist....'
Praise is sweet.
'I made it onto the trending videos, too. Everyone, keep the compliments coming.'
This ASMR video had ridden the algorithm's favor all the way onto the trending chart. It was only at the very tail end of it, true, but the comment activity was scorching hot relative to the video's length. And there had been quite a few requests for more videos in this style, too.
"That's right, that's exactly it! I saw it too. You were good? The vibe in that thing and your vibe now are just— completely different."
Director Gong, who had come over to walk me through my blocking, said it with a grin. The storyboard dangled from his hand.
"I'm expecting great things from you today, too. Make those script revisions worth my while!"
Today's shoot was the club scene. The reason I'd managed to pass the audition at all — the place where Influencer 1 would appear on screen longer than anywhere else.
"If anything feels difficult, you tell me. You're twenty, you probably don't know your way around clubs. Your body might lock up on you. Some actors pour in just a teeeeny bit of booze at times like that — a biiiiit, just a drop — and from then on they loosen right up and act their hearts out."
"Yes, sir. I'll work hard! I'll do great."
I smiled up at Director Gong. Unlike last time, when I'd been riffing opposite Detective Yoon, today the set was crowded.
The elite Detective Yoon, the musclebound Detective Gwak, the gangsters, even the club patrons out for a night of fun. The amount of money that went flying with every single NG was enormous.
'On a film set, time is money.'
Handing extra scenes to a rookie with barely any screen experience had been Director Gong's gamble. But this time, too, I planned to chew through every one of those scenes without a single NG.
'Because it opened. The Item Shop.'
The Item Shop had opened back when the articles came pouring out one after another after the Le-el Style Awards ended.
Honestly, I didn't think it was that prestigious an award. I figured its whole significance lay in the fact that it was the first one I'd ever received. That's what I'd thought, anyway.
"It's way bigger than I expected...?"
I could feel it in my bones now, what one extra line of news coverage actually meant to a celebrity.
"So that's why there are so many award shows these days, huh."
The public had to be fed an endless supply of things to gossip about. I was skimming through the articles when the status window popped up yet again.
◈ Current Lucky Points: 1600p
◈ [Your points exceed 1500p — a new feature is now available]
◈ [The Item Shop can now be accessed]
"Finally!"
It meant that Han Yeo-reum — the name that had been overshadowed by the character "Pi Chae-won" — was slowly, steadily coming into view. Even the industry insiders were beginning to register me, little by little. This Han Yeo-reum, who had lived so long as a nobody.
With the new level came new functions. And at long last, the Item Shop had opened.
I pressed the entry button without a moment's hesitation and stepped inside the Item Shop.