Chapter 88

The initial reaction to the web promotion of *Dream Future* was, to be honest, rather lukewarm.

Part of this was because it was going to be revealed via an internet broadcast.

However.

“Huh? Isn’t that Ma Yeon-woo from Just X appearing?”

“Really? Hey, come on.”

The power of an idol fandom isn’t ordinary.

Especially not for Just X, who were among the most popular idols as of late.

The news that Ma Yeon-woo from Just X would appear caught people’s attention, and as a result, the way the web promotion was proceeding gradually became more widely known.

“Oh, actors versus idols?”

“Apparently, one actor in the idol team, one idol in the actor team. Something like that, I guess.”

“The competition involves acting and singing?”

“Yeah, singing includes dancing too.”

Even at Yeonhwa High School, where Seoyeon attended, such conversations were taking place.

“Should we talk to her?”

“You go first.”

The female students exchanged glances.

Joo Seo-yeon, who always sat quietly in the classroom, was usually hard to approach, even before she embarked on her acting career, but now it was even more challenging. At least a few people who had grown closer to her after the festival.

Then.

“Seo, Seoyeon.”

A bold girl approached her.

“…”

Seoyeon slowly lifted her gaze.

By the way, although they were in the same class, these girls had never properly spoken to her before.

They froze as they looked at Seoyeon.

“Jeez, she’s gorgeous.”

Actors are actors.

Just sitting upright, she exuded an aura that made it hard for them to approach her. Plus, she was usually expressionless.

Of course, Seoyeon herself was also somewhat frozen at that moment.

“Why?”

Why would they suddenly start talking to her?

Even though Seoyeon had already done variety shows and movies, this particular situation was new.

“Um, is it true that you’ll be on the same broadcast with Yeon-woo Oppa from Just X?”

But there are those who seize the moment with courage.

Upon hearing those words, Seoyeon slowly nodded.

“Okay.”

“T-then, a signature, please! Just one! Pretty please!!”

To be honest, Seoyeon didn’t really think much of it.

“Alright.”

“Really?”

Seoyeon’s concise reply brightened up the girl’s face.

Then,

“Hey?”

All of a sudden, a queue began forming in front of Seoyeon.

This was because the queue was to receive signatures from Just X.

“How popular is he?”

She had only remembered them as the idol group that would explode into scandal in just a year. But it seemed their fame was truly impressive.

“Park Jung-woo senior didn’t get this kind of attention.”

After all, actors might have fans, but extreme fandoms like this are rarer, at least in South Korea.

And so, Seoyeon received a barrage of signature requests on all kinds of items — normal notebooks, clothes, and more.

“May I ask what’s going on?”

As soon as she arrived at the filming set, Ma Yeon-woo politely answered.

Seoyeon tilted her head in confusion at his respectful tone.

“Um, I have a favor to ask — would that be okay?”

“A favor?”

“Yes.”

As Seoyeon spoke, she dropped her baggage with a thud.

Upon seeing this, Ma Yeon-woo momentarily lost his words.

Surely, she couldn’t have brought all of this to the filming set?

He swallowed hard.

Sure enough, his suspicion that he had lost a wrestling match against her proved to be real.

“Are you okay with declining if you prefer?”

“Yes.”

“Decline, you say?”

Ma Yeon-woo glanced at the baggage. Actually, its quantity wasn’t too much.

‘Hmm, it’s not as much as I thought.’

Just a mix of random items that seemed heavier due to their miscellaneous nature, definitely not something a high school girl would bring to the filming set.

Still, under normal circumstances, Ma Yeon-woo would’ve outright rejected it.

“Too many signatures lower one’s status.”

That was his usual mindset. If his signature became too common, the value of his brand would diminish, wouldn’t it?

Thus, normally he would’ve rejected such requests.

“Um, can you not?”

“…”

Seoyeon’s tone, devoid of any inflection, made it difficult for Ma Yeon-woo to utter a rejection.

Every time he heard Seoyeon’s voice, his right arm involuntarily twitched.

“Perhaps I’ve caused trouble?”

Seoyeon reflected. She had gotten carried away with excitement from receiving her friends’ requests, even bringing items from other classes. She had planned to quietly take everything back if rejected.

“Of course, I can help with that.”

Ma Yeon-woo readily nodded.

It wasn’t because of the pain in his right arm — really not at all.

“Hmm, we need to get along as a team, so this is fine.”

Just X. He was proud of that group.

And as an idol, he also had his pride, and truthfully, he didn’t want to lose.

A drama about idols.

He knew he had to act, but there was undoubtedly a significant portion where singing and dancing were the main features.

To lose there?

Sleepless nights of wounded pride would surely follow.

And it wasn’t just Ma Yeon-woo but also another person,

Cha Na-hee, who was no different.

“Seo-yeon.”

Cha Na-hee frankly found Seo-yeon hard to understand.

Even apart from the “Let’s have a go” sort of challenge, Cha Na-hee was curious about the selection of this role.

“Why does Song So-ha have to be me?”

During auditions, those waiting for their turns could observe the earlier participants.

Cha Na-hee casually asked an idol who auditioned after her but before Seo-yeon, and this was the response she received:

“Everyone seemed to want to play Song So-ha.”

Even in acting, there was no comparison.

The gap between actors and idols was that significant.

Then, could it be that her singing and dancing skills were lacking?

“The singing was definitely solid, but the dancing… it was like she was flying.”

Given her acquaintance with this particular idol, Cha Na-hee was sure this wasn’t exaggerated but an honest remark. Even to her, an idol herself, Seo-yeon’s dancing style could be described as “flying around.”

If her singing was passable and she could dance so well, it wasn’t unreasonable for her to be cast as Song So-ha.

“Maybe because of her recognition?”

Seo-yeon’s activities so far included only one play, and her visibility in variety shows and advertisements kept her somewhat visible to the public but still relatively unknown.

Most of what the public knew about Seo-yeon came from her past reputation.

But did Cha Na-hee have overwhelming recognition? Absolutely not.

“Why did she give in?”

That led Cha Na-hee to conclude that Seo-yeon had given up the role of Song So-ha.

Ma Yeon-woo and Cha Na-hee’s gazes made Seo-yeon slightly uncomfortable.

“Why does everyone keep looking at me?”

Currently, Seo-yeon was on the filming set.

This “variety promotion” had prepared a set designated for the “idol team.”

The leader of the idol team was Ma Yeon-woo, with Cha Na-hee and Seo-yeon as members.

It was, in fact, a rather modest-sized team, given that there were only six lead roles.

“An actor in the idol team, an idol in the actor team.”

It was natural that Park Jung-woo was the leader of the actor team.

And Ma Yeon-woo was the obvious leader of the idol team, despite any personality issues, due to his immense recognition.

“Since the roles of Ma Yeon-woo as Park Min-yul and Seo-yeon as Joo Ha-rin are ambiguous, Song So-ha, the female lead, Cha Na-hee, was included as a member.

Seo-yeon glanced at the corner of the set.

The current situation was being filmed by cameras.

For reference, this day was a recording session, with the battles broadcast live from here on.

“Anyway!”

Ma Yeon-woo clapped his hands and spoke.

Since he was the leader, it was necessary for him to guide the situation.

“Since we’re an idol team, we have to win in singing and dancing.”

Each must excel in their specialized area.

This was a do-or-die match that ends either in a 2:0 victory or a draw.

“Seo-yeon, how about your singing?”

At Ma Yeon-woo’s question, Seo-yeon stared at him for a moment.

“It’s fine if you speak more casually.”

“Pardon?”

“On the broadcast only.”

“…”

Seo-yeon spoke quietly to avoid being caught by the camera.

‘Calling someone formally messes up the character feel.’

Anyway, since it was a variety show, it was important to make it as natural and entertaining as possible.

It seemed Ma Yeon-woo was unaccustomed to speaking formally to juniors, and it was perplexing how no controversies had arisen so far, but some concessions were necessary.

‘Wait, what…’

Ma Yeon-woo wanted to argue.

With his personality, he should have already been mocking her in a flippant tone and stormed out, but the throbbing pain in his arm held his impulsive nature in check.

“Uh, r-right, sure.”

“Good. Let’s start with acting.”

Seo-yeon said with enthusiasm.

After all, it was a competition.

Seo-yeon didn’t want to lose this battle, even if it was against someone she knew, like Park Jung-woo!

“…Isn’t the leader me?”

Ma Yeon-woo was perplexed.

Why would the actor precede the idols on an idol team?

Seo-yeon had so naturally taken charge, making it awkward to interject.

“We’re doing a promotion, so we’ll showcase some scenes from the drama.”

Seo-yeon began looking at the scenes assigned as missions.

Each person’s script contained a list of these scenes.

“…”

“…”

Everyone reviewed the scenes and remained silent.

Even Seo-yeon, who had been enthusiastically looking at the script, was slightly taken aback.

Was it because of the love scene?

Perhaps.

If it had been that, it would have been merely an awkward moment.

But this problem was of an entirely different kind.

‘Ah, *Dream Future* was this type of drama after all.’

She was suddenly curious how it managed to surpass a 20% viewership rating with this concept.

***

Initially, *Dream Future* gained attention simply because Ma Yeon-woo from Just X was part of it.

However, that attention didn’t last long.

After all, it was a modest team battle of 3 versus 3.

And because this was a pre-promotion for a youth drama, it was bound to fade quickly.

– Still, I’ll watch it.

– Seo-yeon Joo has been busy. Is she moving straight to a drama after the movie?

Even in the small fan community of Seo-yeon Joo, which had fewer than 300 active members, there was some chatter, but no one had great expectations.

Just the interest in the character ‘Seo-yeon Joo’ that gained traction in variety shows.

They had virtually no expectations for the drama.

And the first episode of the web variety show began.

– It’s boring already.

– When will the meeting end?

For the actor team, led by Park Jung-woo, the strategy to dominate in acting was evident. Although they performed some singing and dancing, they weren’t particularly eye-catching.

And the idol team,

– Hey, move that aside.

– Just get rid of it ㅠㅠㅠ

This side drew attention because Seo-yeon appeared first.

After all, most fans here were here for Ma Yeon-woo.

Nevertheless, as they progressed to the serious practice sessions, the number of viewers gradually increased, and comments started appearing on the live broadcast channel.

– Wow, Park Jung-wo can sing.

– Why is Ma Yeon-woo so tame all of a sudden? He’s usually so bold.

Of all the comments, Seo-yeon’s segment gained the most attention.

– Huh? Is Joo Seo-yeon also from an idol group?

– She dances well.

– What the hell is with that singing?

– My younger sibling’s singing matches that exactly.

Seo-yeon’s singing wasn’t necessarily bad; it just didn’t compare well to her dancing.

Once practice ended,

– Hmm…

– For a promotional variety show, it’s a bit…

Most of the content in the pre-recorded first episode was centered around the group’s practice sessions. The reviews weren’t particularly favorable.

Primarily, they found it boring, thinking it might just end there, but…

– What is this? It’s not over yet?

At the end, the scene transitions into a formal rehearsal.

This competition involved shooting two scenes and evaluating who performed better in acting and singing in those scenes.

“Me… I don’t think I can do it.”

Seo-yeon appeared.

Rather, Seo-yeon portraying Joo Ha-rin appeared.

“No matter how hard I practice, my singing won’t improve. I definitely can’t go on like this.”

This scene highlighted Joo Ha-rin’s basic character traits.

Though Ha-rin was skilled in dancing, her singing was relatively weak.

In a way, it was a role perfectly suited to Seo-yeon.

However, Kim Si-hwan, whom Ha-rin had a crush on, was an idol in every possible way.

Looks? Check.

Singing and dancing? Talent on par with a top idol.

Joo Ha-rin wanted to stand by his side but couldn’t quite get close to him.

“Ha-rin!”

Suddenly, a man approached the despondent character.

Park Min-yul. Joo Ha-rin felt the same way toward Kim Si-hwan as Min-yul did for Ha-rin.

Only he chose not to reveal it, fearful of burdening her.

“You’re doing well. I’m here!”

The lines felt cliche and garnered unimpressed reactions in the chat.

– Haha, it’s so predictable.

– Here come the pep talks, trauma overcoming, blah blah…

At that moment,

“Look at me, Ha-rin!”

Suddenly, Park Min-yul started dancing as he walked.

– ?

– Seriously, what the hell? Is he dancing right now?!

“Look at me, Ha-rin! I couldn’t dance before, but look how much I’ve improved!”

– That’s enough! Please stop!

– Can’t he just stand still and talk?

Suddenly, the chat speed accelerated.

But the dance didn’t stop.

Park Min-yul shouted out,

“You can do it! You can sing!”

– Ah…

But contrary to the chat’s reactions, the scene continued.

With a raised head in response to Min-yul’s words, Joo Ha-rin faintly smiled.

– Shit, I think I know what’s coming…

And as Park Min-yul’s dance continued, Joo Ha-rin opened her mouth.

“Yes, you’re right.”

– Wait!

– Ah!

– Eh?

Suddenly, an upbeat backing track started playing.

And Ha-rin’s voice rang out.

The song.

Her voice, an enhanced mezzo-soprano, pierced through the space.

Riding on the rhythm of her voice, Park Min-yul’s dance movements became more fierce.

– We made a mistake… Please stop now…

Of course, the singing and dancing didn’t stop.

With the chat exploding, it was an inevitable course of events.

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