Chapter 75
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: A Frenzy of Votes
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While the concert hall buzzed with news of the film festival, the world outside was just as chaotic.
The people at the fan meeting weren't Seojun's only fans. In fact, those who had failed to get tickets far outnumbered those who had succeeded.
-Part 1 reviews are up!!
-Wow! The kids from 'Spring' were the MCs.
As fans browsed the fan cafe, reading short reviews posted during the break, a new announcement from Cocoa Entertainment appeared.
Everyone clicked on it, thinking it was an announcement for the next fan meeting, but an incredible piece of news awaited them.
A short while ago.
The PR team member who had informed Team Leader Kim Sooryun was now writing a press release under Seo Eunchan's direction.
Because they were originally an idol agency, no one had paid much attention to foreign film festivals. They had only just learned that the WTV Film Festival awards were decided by viewer ‘votes’.
Votes!
The word that tingled the fans' every nerve!
It was a tangible measure of a fan's love for a celebrity, an act so prone to all sorts of tricks and even manipulation controversies that anyone who had ever been a fan had likely participated in it at least once.
'The terrifying thing about voting is that a single vote can separate the winner from the loser.'
Watching his nephew on stage, Seo Eunchan spoke to the PR team member over the phone.
-Sir. Should we post it on the fan cafe first?
“We've already told the fans here, so post it on the fan cafe before sending out the press release. If this gets out late, people will say the company isn't doing its job! It'll be fine if Seojun wins, but if he loses by just a few votes…”
-It'll be chaos.
He was right.
His first-ever nomination.
The chance for his first-ever award.
And at an international film festival, no less!
If Seojun failed to win the award because of a vote they didn't know about, the fans' anger would turn on Cocoa Entertainment for not informing them.
The employees listening to Seo Eunchan on speakerphone gulped.
“No Korean has ever been nominated at the WTV Film Festival, so not many people will know about this. We need to get the word out as quickly as possible. The other nominated actors have formidable fanbases too. The fact that they have longer careers and are active in the U.S. will be a major obstacle.”
At Seo Eunchan's words, the PR team members took a deep breath. It was time to show the power of Cocoa Entertainment's PR team.
Reporters, always keeping a close eye on Cocoa Entertainment and thirsty for a hot topic, received the email and calls from the PR team and began writing articles. Anything from Cocoa Entertainment was guaranteed to be a hit!
“Post it now!”
“What about the content!?”
“Just post the headline! You can edit it later!”
Lee Seojun, international, film festival, nominee, chance to win. And vote! All the keywords were perfectly tailored to the public's taste. There was no better article for racking up views.
In the race to be the first, an article with only the headline [Lee Seojun Nominated for International Film Festival, Chance to Win?!] was posted online.
[(Exclusive) Lee Seojun Nominated for International Film Festival, Chance to Win?!]
-What? There's no content.
-He was nominated? For what film festival?
-You can't write an article like this!
After that, articles began pouring in. The entertainment section of every news site was flooded with Seojun's name.
[Outstanding Actor Award! Nominee Lee Seojun!]
[Only 7 Years Old, Youngest Korean Nominee at the WTV Film Festival!]
[Outstanding Actor Award Decided by Votes! A Korean Actor Might Win!]
Along with the articles, Lee Seojun's name shot up the real-time search rankings.
1. Lee Seojun Fan Meeting
2. Lee Seojun
3. Lee Seojun WTV
…
10. How to vote WTV
Lee Seojun's fan cafe, having heard the news, also moved quickly. They had been idly waiting for fan meeting reviews, but this heart-pounding news got them excited.
[(Announcement) Everyone, please vote!]
Our actor Lee Seojun has been nominated for the 'Outstanding Actor Award' at the WTV Film Festival!
Let's win our actor Lee Seojun his first-ever award with our own hands!
Everyone, please vote.
>[WTV Voting Link]
-Whoa. A nominee! I voted!
-Outstanding Actor Award! Of course it's Seojun!
-Wouldn't Best Villain be good too?
=He hasn't done anything evil yet haha. Maybe he'll get it for Shadowman 3 lol
-Voted!
While Seojun's fan meeting was underway, the internet and the entertainment industry were in an uproar.
TV programs explained about the WTV Film Festival and introduced Korean actors who had won awards at international film festivals. They reported that if Seojun won, he would become the youngest Korean to ever receive such an award.
Brown Black and Lee Jiseok also announced Seojun's nomination through the agency's social media. Their hope that Seojun would win moved the fans.
[Let's vote too!]
It's not like Brown Black and Lee Seojun are just acquaintances!
He's like a nephew to our BB! Let's vote!
>[WTV Voting Link]
-Just voted!
-I really hope he wins!
[Let's vote for actor Lee Seojun!]
For actor Lee Seojun, who broke actor Lee Jiseok's leading role jinx!
Let's vote too!
-I'm so happy all his projects have been successful since 'The Evil Spirit' ㅠ
-Just voted!
The activity in the two fan cafes caught the eyes of reporters hunting for their next story. Articles went up in a flash, one after another.
[Brown Black and Lee Jiseok's Fans Unite for Lee Seojun!]
[The Hyungs are here to help! Aim for Lee Seojun's Win!]
[Actor Lee Seojun, Nominated for WTV Film Festival!]
[A First for a Korean Actor!]
[Let's Learn About the WTV Film Festival!]
[Winner Decided by Fan Votes!]
***
During the second part of the fan meeting, everyone was so excited they didn't know what to do with themselves. Especially when Seojun performed as Jin Natra, they all applauded in awe, thinking, 'So this is the performance that got him nominated!'
Seojun, too, was so thrilled he couldn't stop grinning. It felt as if the entire venue was floating on a cloud. Still, he didn't forget what he had to do.
Seojun proceeded with the fan meeting according to the schedule. He picked a few fans to receive gifts and shake hands with, and he sat in a plush chair to chat with them.
Stories about his time in America, about his friends, about losing another baby tooth. They were small, trivial stories, but they were fun. The fans listened with happy smiles.
The fan meeting, filled with happiness, was coming to an end.
“How was it, everyone?”
Lee Dajin and Choi Soyoung left, and Seojun stood alone on the stage. Bathed in the spotlight, his smiling figure seemed to sparkle. Seojun spoke with a smile.
“I was so excited, I don't know if I performed well.”
-No! You were amazing!
-You did great!
Seojun giggled and looked out at the audience. Everyone was celebrating his nomination as if it were their own.
He loved how the fans reacted joyfully to his every small movement. He scanned the crowd throughout the event, looking for anyone who seemed unhappy, but everyone was watching him with expressions of pure happiness and delight.
As he slowly gazed at the audience, as if making eye contact with each person, Seojun suddenly wondered if he'd had any fans in his first life.
If he had, would they have cried over his death? He worried. It would have been so nice if even one person had been his fan in his first life…
Shaking off the growing thoughts, Seojun focused on the fans' gazes fixed solely on him and bowed deeply.
My first life is my first life, but right now, I should only think about my fans! Seojun beamed.
“Thank you so much for coming today. Please continue to give me your support and love!”
-Seojun! Congratulations on the nomination!
-Today was so much fun!
Seojun left the stage, and the venue doors opened.
Staff members standing by the doors handed out paper bags from a large box.
The fans carefully placed the gifts they had brought into a designated box, clutched the paper bags containing Seojun's autograph and a DVD, and immediately turned on their phones as they left the venue.
Lee Miyeon, with a flushed face, also turned on her phone to brag to her friend.
“Hey, yeah. It just ended.”
-How was it?
“It was amazing! Seeing Seojun's acting in person was no joke. He only did the voice for the Blue Dragon role, but it was incredible. Oh, and Seojun was nominated for an international film festival! We were the first to find out!”
-Ah. There are articles about that. The internet is going crazy.
“Reporters are fast, as expected. I really hope Seojun wins.”
-Huh? They didn't tell you at the fan meeting?
“Tell me what?”
Listening to her friend, Park Seonga, Lee Miyeon let out an involuntary shout. It was so loud that people leaving the venue whipped their heads around to look at her. No, Lee Miyeon's words struck the fans like a blow to the back of the head.
“The winner is decided by votes!?!”
Votes!?
At that word, which stirred their primal instincts, the fans' eyes lit up.
***
“Votes?”
“Yeah. You have to go to the website to vote.”
“But you didn't say anything about that earlier.”
After parting ways with the Nunas at the venue, An Daho and the other staff members all went home. Today, Seojun was going home with his Samchon Chan. Seo Eunchan drove Seojun's car, and they headed home together.
Having heard from Seo Eunchan the truth about the song and that he wasn't the one who wrote the questions, Seojun retracted his suspicious gaze and tilted his head.
“If we had mentioned it at the fan meeting, everyone would have been too busy trying to vote. Besides, it would have made the event seem like it was just to encourage voting. The fan meeting was for the fans, so posting about it in the fan cafe is enough.”
“I see.”
“Your Samchon already voted.”
“Mm.”
Seojun pondered. Should he ask about the current voting situation or not? He was curious, but he knew he'd be disappointed if he was in last place.
Bzzzt-
Just then, his phone buzzed. It was a text from Seo Eunhye. Seojun's eyes sparkled as he read his mom's message. Seo Eunchan asked.
“What'd she say?”
“She said we're having a party to celebrate the nomination, so I should buy a cake! My favorite kind! And anything else I want to eat!”
“Really? Where's a good cake shop around here?”
“Samchon, Samchon. Let's get chicken too!”
“Cake and chicken. Sure, eat as much as you want! It's on your Samchon today!”
Excited by Seo Eunchan's words, Seojun went to buy a chocolate cake. Meanwhile, the internet was ablaze with voting.
-If you're Korean, you have to vote! For Lee Seojun!
-I never knew a film festival like this existed. Redbone won before, huh.
-Vote! Let's vote!
-While we're at it, let's vote for Shadowman too!
-Ugh. The site crashed lol
-Looks like Brown Black and Lee Jiseok's fan cafes are going wild too, since they're from the same agency.
-I don't know about the others, but the Brown Black fans must be used to this because of music shows. It'll be a piece of cake for them.
On the screen of Seojun's fan cafe, large letters were displayed.
[Our Actor's First-Ever Award! Let's Make It Happen With Our Own Hands!]
***
As the awards ceremony approached and the voting period neared its end, everyone worked tirelessly. Cocoa Entertainment's PR team and Lee Seojun's management team 2 were especially busy.
“It's a blind vote, so we have no idea how many votes are needed. We promoted it really hard… This should be enough for him to win, right?”
“I hope so. But if he does win, we'll be even busier than this, won't we?”
The PR team distributed promotional materials everywhere to encourage voting, while Team 2 was busy declining the flood of interview and broadcast offers.
On the chance that Seojun might win, one station wanted to compile his past films along with photos and materials from his parents to create a documentary. There were also calls asking him to appear on variety shows. Most, however, were interview requests.
For now, the interview schedules with the three major broadcast stations that Seojun had agreed to appear on were postponed until after the awards ceremony. All other offers were being declined.
“A documentary is too soon.”
“And variety shows are either physical or just talk shows, which aren't much different from interviews.”
Everyone shook their heads. An employee scrolling through social media let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.
“Wow, the airport is swarming with reporters.”
A photo taken by someone departing today was posted on social media. At every entrance to the international terminal, reporters with large cameras were waiting.
“They don't know when he'll leave, but they know he has to leave eventually, so they're waiting.”
“We can't just announce the date, though.”
With Seojun's nomination, the media frenzy had intensified. The heat was so intense that one wrong move could lead to a major incident. Cocoa Entertainment's wish was for him to depart in secret.
“That seems unlikely.”
Seeing the updates on the airport situation popping up everywhere, Seo Eunchan sighed.