Chapter 4
Chapter 4
This Isn’t a Movie Trailer?
The WeTube channel 30THC.
A newly created channel with only two uploaded videos so far.
Both videos were fanmade mad-movie parodies of Hallyu star Cha Seoyoon’s commercials.
└This is the real deal…
└Seriously, how much money did they burn on CG for this?
└The graphics look even crazier than that movie that supposedly spent 200 million won per second on CG
└Isn’t this just plagiarized compositing? There’s no way they built this all from scratch
If these fan videos were converted into actual production costs, how much money would the CG alone be worth?
What kind of people made this?
Was it one person, or a group?
Speculation exploded everywhere.
Still, there was one thing every viewer agreed on unanimously.
└30THC is a genuine Cha Seoyoon fan
└This is worth at least billions of won
└At this point it’s basically obsession
The first video was approaching ten million views.
The second had barely passed two million.
└Quality-wise the second video completely crushes the first, but the editing concept overlaps too much so people stop watching midway
└I still thought it was fun though
└The second one definitely went way harder on the production
└I work in CG professionally, and right now I’m losing my mind because some fan video casually turned the multi-billion-won CG we spent months making into scrap…
└The third video’s up, why is nobody watching it?
└What do you mean up? There are only two videos
└It’s on PineTree’s official homepage account go watch it right now
└Seriously?
Viewers rushed over to PineTree Entertainment’s official WeTube account.
Sure enough, a brand-new video had been uploaded there.
A commercial themed around Cha Seoyoon and polar bears.
[Created by 30THC]
Wearing a bright dress like she was out on a spring picnic, Cha Seoyoon hugged a giant polar bear,
rolled around with it,
and even climbed onto its back while playing happily.
Vast, majestic glaciers.
A dazzling sun reflecting across the horizon.
There was no dialogue, only soft background music,
yet the beautiful visuals completely captured the viewers’ attention.
└The graphics really are insane…
└All of this is CG? It doesn’t feel fake at all
└Seriously thought they went to the Arctic and filmed with an actual polar bear;;;
└There’s SOMETHING here. My chest feels weirdly itchy but I can’t explain why…
The polar bear video left a deep emotional impact on the viewers and fans.
The visuals were just that beautiful.
└Definitely a real Cha Seoyoon fan. Cha Seoyoon goes crazy for polar bears
└But you can just google that information, can’t you?
└You must be a T
└The agency works fast. Nice collab move
└30THC is the one doing amazing work. Didn’t they make Cha Seoyoon fan videos for promotion in the first place?
└How much did this polar bear video cost to make?
└30THC uploaded the original polar bear version go watch it ASAP it’s insane (link)
└Original version? So the PineTree upload wasn’t the original?
Viewers flooded toward the 30THC channel.
Sure enough, there was a newly uploaded polar bear video there too.
But the thumbnail and runtime looked completely different from the PineTree version.
Cha Seoyoon’s outfit was different, and so was the story.
Wearing thick Eskimo fur clothing, Cha Seoyoon approached a collapsed baby polar bear.
As she removed the fur hood, her face revealed beauty so flawless it looked like CG itself.
She fed the starving cub.
The revived baby polar bear licked her hand.
The two quickly became close,
and before long, the polar bear had grown into an adult.
Cha Seoyoon’s appearance in the thick Eskimo fur outfit felt more realistic than the PineTree version.
Then came the moment of farewell.
The fully grown polar bear left to search for a mate.
It swam across freezing seas and crossed glaciers.
But no matter how long it wandered among the icebergs, it couldn’t find another polar bear.
The lonely sight of the sleeping polar bear almost felt like it was thinking about the separated Cha Seoyoon.
Then the soft emotional music abruptly stopped.
Grand orchestral music erupted as the entire glacier region shook violently.
Reflected in the polar bear’s raised eyes was a gigantic spaceship.
Defying gravity, the spaceship floated gently in midair before its doors opened.
Cha Seoyoon stepped out wearing her Eskimo fur outfit, and the polar bear immediately rushed toward her joyfully.
The beauty and the polar bear tangled together affectionately, expressing how much they missed each other.
Then the polar bear followed Cha Seoyoon into the spaceship.
The spaceship crossed the Arctic Ocean before stopping beside a massive iceberg.
The doors opened.
When Cha Seoyoon stepped outside, another polar bear that had been warily watching the spaceship suddenly ran toward her happily.
The polar bear that came with Cha Seoyoon quietly watched from the entrance of the ship before finally rushing toward the pair.
The polar bear playing with Cha Seoyoon finally noticed the other bear.
Cha Seoyoon silently stepped aside.
The two polar bears sniffed each other before embracing tightly with their massive paws.
Cha Seoyoon quietly returned to the spaceship.
Then the spaceship departed once more in search of another isolated polar bear.
And the video ended.
The views exploded instantly.
Likes and comments surged upward nonstop.
Almost every reaction was pure admiration.
Occasionally jealous hate comments appeared, but they were immediately buried beneath dislikes and reports.
└Did they actually go to the Arctic and hire real polar bears for filming?
└Teacher, how exactly do we get aliens to sponsor us with spaceships?
└Cha Seoyoon’s visuals are seriously insane
One overwhelmingly upvoted comment perfectly represented the viewers’ feelings.
└Is this a trailer promoting Cha Seoyoon’s new movie?
【Current Appreciation Points: 20 million.】
Whew. Cleared it without cutting things too close.
【Quest completed.】
【One additional model slot has been granted.】
【Current Slots: 1/3】
【Registered Models: Cha Seoyoon】
Real people had to be registered into model slots in order to appear.
Completely fictional characters didn’t consume model slots.
But fictional characters apparently couldn’t be used as protagonists.
At least not yet.
【Unlocking the Unlimited NPC feature will allow fictional characters to appear without restriction.】
‘You’re seriously picky. You could just allow it.’
【This application complies with in-house video production ethics guidelines.】
Basically it just meant I needed to keep farming Appreciation Points.
Make videos diligently.
Get lots of people to watch them.
‘I finally met the monetization requirements.’
Video count, subscriber count, watch hours.
I had cleared the minimum conditions.
Now it felt like I needed to decide the channel’s direction.
‘What matters most to me?’
Obviously finishing the video app tutorial and unlocking all its features.
Even in tutorial mode, it produced absurdly high-quality videos with just a few “brain-clicks.”
Judging from the comments by actual industry professionals,
they said the Cha Seoyoon and polar bear video would require the best CG experts working day and night for at least six months while burning through massive amounts of money and sanity.
Appreciation Points increased whenever people visited “my space” to watch videos.
That was why my current Appreciation Points exactly matched my total WeTube views.
【Tutorial Stage 1 Quest completed.】
【Beginning Stage 2 Quest.】
【Generate cumulative revenue exceeding 100 million won.】
【Time Limit: None】
So now the tutorial wanted me to leave the starter village, go hunt monsters, and earn money too?
‘With 500,000 subscribers, shouldn’t earning 100 million won be easy? People say WeTubers with 500k subscribers are basically walking mid-sized corporations.’
Of course, I had an absurd advantage since video production cost me absolutely nothing.
But now the question was what kind of videos I should make next.
I blew up using three Cha Seoyoon videos.
I couldn’t suddenly switch to sketch comedy out of nowhere.
After researching a bit, I realized something.
More important than video quality was a channel’s identity and direction.
Cooking channels should focus on cooking.
Music channels on music.
Web comedy channels on web comedy.
People said becoming a random mixed-content channel with no identity was a disaster.
But until one month ago, I had never even considered working in video production.
I’d never written scripts before.
At most, I casually watched popular dramas and movies that became hits.
So at this point, what was the most cost-efficient way for me to make money with the video app?
[Accepting CG commissions.]
[We guarantee the highest graphic quality and rapid turnaround time.
Pricing will be negotiated based on client requirements and production time.]
The moment I uploaded the announcement, comments exploded like a storm.
Every single one was congratulatory and supportive.
└A giant dinosaur has appeared in this humble habitat
I almost wanted to hit the like button on that comment without thinking.
But I barely restrained myself.
PineTree Entertainment.
Office of Team 1.
Team Leader Park Sejin was currently receiving absurd complaints from a close film director friend.
“I’m honestly hurt. Is this really how you’re doing things? Cha Seoyoon promised my movie would be her first project after her break. I’ve been polishing the storyboard nonstop waiting for her.”
“Director Kim, what are you talking about?”
“Don’t pretend you don’t know.”
“No, seriously, what are you even talking about? She hasn’t been cast in anything.”
“Then what’s that new trailer?”
“New trailer?”
“Hold on.”
A moment later, Director Kim Jungwon played a video on his phone.
After watching it all the way through, Team Leader Park Sejin looked completely dumbfounded.
Kim Jungwon proudly declared,
“That’s a promotional trailer for a new movie, isn’t it? I never heard filming started. When did you secretly shoot all this?”
“No, what the hell is this…”
“Judging by how quiet Chungmuro is, you must’ve handled the whole thing overseas. Security’s airtight. Completely airtight.”
“I’m hearing about this for the first time too. Director Kim, wait a second.”
Park Sejin immediately called Cha Seoyoon’s manager, Kim Kyungwook.
“Team Leader, that’s a polar bear conservation promotional video.”
“What? Seriously?”
“Yes. Seoyoon is very passionate about polar bear conservation, remember? So we made a nonprofit promotional video.”
After hearing the explanation, Director Kim Jungwon’s eyes widened.
“So you’re telling me someone created a Hollywood blockbuster-level trailer for free just because they’re a fan?”
“Yes.”
“What kind of people are these?”
“The WeTube channel is…”
After learning the original channel name, Director Kim Jungwon thoroughly searched through it.
Then he found something.
“They’re accepting CG commissions?”