Chapter 82

[[Deserted Survival] Ratings ↑ [The Chaser] Anticipation ↑]

[Back-to-back Variety Show Hits! Who is Sooyeon Joo?]

[Éclat Étoile ‘No Longer Struggling’ – Glorious Return with [Stardust]]

The day after the broadcast of [Deserted Survival], articles kept pouring out one after another.

This was something even I couldn’t have expected.

‘Could this be a fake advertisement?’

I was seriously worried.

What if the people who actually tried it got different results from me and then filed complaints?

But I’m simply someone with exceptionally resistant skin.

Anyway, on an unrelated note, I heard that Éclat Étoile happily contacted my agency.

“I hear the sales have skyrocketed.”

“…Is that so?”

“It seems you can’t find the Éclat Étoile [Stardust] product anywhere now.”

Manager Park Eun-ha’s words made me smile awkwardly.

‘Even so, I didn’t expect this level of reaction.’

Honestly, I couldn’t grasp the reality of the situation. While I thought the ad was well done, I never imagined it would have such a big impact.

“Maybe the effect of [Deserted Survival] was this strong.”

Honestly.

Ever since the broadcast of [Deserted Survival] yesterday, I couldn’t properly raise my head at home.

The sight of me running around like a madwoman all over the deserted island… truthfully, it was embarrassing.

‘All because I have weak emotions when I’m in a good mood.’

Actually, I was fine when I was younger.

More specifically, around before I turned ten.

This was during the time when the influence of my past life still lingered.

“But things changed when puberty hit.”

When I fully plunged my feet into the wave of emotions and started tasting what people call “good emotions.”

The bad emotions weren’t that overwhelming since I had plenty of harsh memories from my previous life.

But the emotions I hadn’t experienced properly in my past life — joy, excitement, heart-throbbing anticipation… I was very vulnerable to those.

To put it in Jiyeon’s words:

“You run around like an excited retriever.”

“…”

Frankly, this wasn’t the first time. I remember something similar happening in middle school.

‘Suddenly, I’m starting to feel a little worried.’

[Dream Future].

A youthful romance drama.

My goal in this work – the character Ha-rin Joo – is a bubbly, unique character who plays the ill-fated second female lead.

She’s the role of someone who has liked the main male lead, ‘Si-hwan Kim,’ since childhood and enters the audition program as an idol hopeful, following him.

Naturally, Kim Si-hwan ends up with the female lead, Song So-ha, leaving Joo Ha-rin to step back.

‘Starting from episode 8, the presence of Ha-rin Joo will decrease drastically.’

Episodes 7 and 8 highlight the significant arc of Joo Ha-rin, where she decides to give up on Kim Si-hwan graciously, pushing Song So-ha forward.

‘The romance scene.’

Although mutual feelings don’t develop, the affectionate first love Ha-rin Joo holds for Kim Si-hwan and the process of letting it go — can I portray this well enough?

And after watching my performance in [Deserted Survival], I’m now worried about whether I can realistically act out these feelings of affection.

Maybe I should decline.

But right at that moment:

“Seoyeon, the manager from Éclat Étoile is on the phone!”

Manager Park Eun-ha’s phone rang with a call directly from Éclat Étoile.

“Dear Seoyeon Joo! Are you doing well? We’d like to work together with Éclat Étoile moving forward…”

Mr. Min-chan from Éclat Étoile spoke enthusiastically, roughly asking for cooperation in the future, before emphasizing:

“Whenever possible, please try to maintain a good image. We’d appreciate that.”

At the moment, I have a mysterious image from the ad campaigns and a bright, cheerful image from the variety show. Essentially, they were asking me to preserve the positive image I had formed.

Then he added:

“Judging by the trend, there’s a high chance we can renew our contract halfway through! I’ll do my best to make sure your earnings double.”

With that, Mr. Min-chan ended the call.

While mulling over his words, an undeniable realization struck me: over 400 million won.

For a moment, I pictured myself swimming in money.

“…”

I nodded, staring at my phone.

“I should definitely join Dream Future.”

That’s how I resolved myself firmly.

***

One more change I could observe after the show [Deserted Survival] was the birth of various fan communities for Seoyeon.

Commonly referred to as “Seoyeon Joo galleries” or “Seoyeon Joo fan cafes,” they started popping up one by one.

While the number was not overwhelming, their existence itself was a clear indication of a rising recognition.

Even without any notable drama or movie releases.

However:

Post: “Is Seoyeon Joo better than Min-hyeok?”

Discussing the legendary 17:1 battle between celebrities, [Champion Min-hyeok].

Comment:

– Stabbing coconuts in one hit could kill.

– Is Seoyeon Joo funny?

– Metal Chicken wins.

Though there were quite a few comparison debates in the entertainment community, this was actually a positive outcome.

Indeed, the community closely followed the discussions.

Especially:

“Ah, I really should’ve signed her then.”

Manager Lee Hwi-rok from RY Entertainment, responsible for actor management, regretfully held his head.

Who knew it would turn out like this?

“Well, maybe prolonging the offer would have helped…”

At this, Lee Hwi-rok frowned at Manager Song.

“Manager Song!”

“Yes?”

“Why are you bringing this up now? We were fine with the offer we gave at that time.”

Even so, the offer was not something an average actor would have refused.

“Novice Entertainment… really has no eye for talent. How could she go to such a place?”

Tsking aloud, Manager Lee voiced his disapproval.

When he approached her, Novice Entertainment had already signed her. What could he do now?

To be honest, it was difficult to understand.

Even if she had signed, she should’ve broken the contract and come to RY Entertainment, given the substantial advantages they offered.

Knock knock.

At that moment, someone tapped on the office door and cautiously entered.

“Ah, who’s this? Isn’t this our rising star?”

“Yes, I heard you called for me.”

Manager Lee, looking at the young man who just entered, assessed him.

About mid-20s.

Current university student, idol.

“How’s your condition, Yeon-woo?”

“As always, I’m in great shape.”

Ma Yeon-woo is one of the popular members in RY Entertainment’s recently launched boy group, Just X. A charming and handsome face hides a well-toned body. He’s known as “Beast Idol,” and among the members of Just X, he has the largest fan base.

He’s currently the most-supported male idol in RY.

“Are you also learning acting seriously, Yeon-woo?”

“Of course, yes.”

His face exuded confidence, a product of his rapid rise to fame with Just X. Every movement, every word was filled with confidence.

‘Youngster.’

Manager Lee inwardly thought and smiled gently. Although he did like Ma Yeon-woo, given how crucial he was to RY Entertainment’s financial success.

But it was hard to like a guy personally who became arrogant at such a young age.

‘This is quite common though.’

So what? Even if he showed a little arrogance in front of him, he’s still someone deserving of that attitude.

“Because you’re in actor entertainment, I’ll explain this simply: There’s a request to try acting in earnest this time.”

“Acting? Wait, drama? Or a movie? I’d rather avoid anything with a lot of action acting.”

Even before understanding fully, he’s already rejecting certain kinds of roles.

Huirak laughed at this and replied with a laugh.

“Youthful romance drama. It’s a drama KMB is preparing.”

“Yes, a youth romance?”

“Seems that they are targeting young idols or actors in their late teens to early twenties to make one drama. It’s a good opportunity. You’ll also get to compete against peers your age.”

Ah, against my peers?”

Mentioning his peers, Ma Yeon-woo’s face was full of confident pride, as if saying “Among the peers, I’m clearly the best.”

“What’s the name of the drama?”

Manager Lee, who nearly chuckled at this attitude but kept his composure, continued smoothly:

“Dream Future.”

A drama where young actors and idols gather to depict the process of their idol success, focused on youth.

***

At the [Dream Future] audition site, it was crowded with young actors from various entertainment agencies.

“They said no one would apply to [Dream Future].”

“But look, it’s completely packed.”

Casting Director Yoon Seoil spoke casually while glancing around, inwardly impressed.

“The one internally confirmed only for [Dream Future].”

Park Jung-woo.

Actually, it’s not really an internal confirmation. His role as ‘Kim Si-hwan’ was just predetermined.

Today’s audition was to cast everyone except the Kim Si-hwan role handled by Jung-woo. Therefore, Park Jung-woo joined in as a jury member for the [Dream Future] auditions.

“Initially, I wondered if letting such a young actor be a judge was okay…”

Casting Director Yoon was also the same. In his knowledge, Park Jung-woo was just 20, still quite young to some degree even in the realm of young actors.

But his popularity and presence were like that of a veteran actor over 30.

Was it because his father was the renowned actor Park Sun-woong?

Hence, Park Jung-woo attracted attention. Just standing there next to Yoon Seoil clearly showed that he was one of today’s judges.

“The majority are new actors, idols… first-timers.”

Park Jung-woo muttered to himself. Most were novices, but he didn’t laugh or ridicule anyone, even if it was somewhat laughable from an experienced actor’s perspective.

On the contrary,

“It feels like I’m waiting for something.”

As if waiting for someone.

But would someone Jung-woo could wait for be participating in this audition?

“Probably not.”

[Dream Future] was a pretty ambitious drama from KMB but didn’t involve massive investment.

The original writer of its script was a newcomer, and it mostly featured new actors.

Casting Director Yoon was honestly overwhelmed by the composition but found himself trusting Park Jung-woo despite everything. After all, he was that rare actor whose works might waver but never failed outright.

“Wow, what’s that?”

Suddenly, the audition site buzzed. The first noticeable feature was the blonde hair.

A casually dressed man walked in, his manager beside him, shoulders slightly tense.

“Just X’s Ma Yeon-woo.”

Park Jung-woo narrowed his eyes. It fit perfectly—an idol drama with the first acting attempt by a popular idol.

“Of course.”

Ma Yeon-woo strut into the room with an air of arrogance, sensing all eyes on him.

‘What better stage than this?’

An idol drama set on an audition stage with him, a popular idol… it was bound to land him a sure thing.

‘What roles were available anyway?’

He could hardly recall. Continuing to walk forward…

‘What’s this strange feeling?’

He realized suddenly that the gaze wasn’t entirely focused on him.

It seemed people were looking past him.

Ma Yeon-woo stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around.

“…Aren’t you coming?”

At that moment, Ma Yeon-woo lost his words.

A girl with black hair, slightly frowning as if annoyed by his obstruction.

Joo Sooyeon.

Her sudden appearance startled not only him but also other actors present.

‘Princess Yeonhwa.’

All eyes now turned to Park Jung-woo, who had taken on the role of Yoon Seoil in [Looking Back at the Past].

Their chemistry was extraordinary, resonating widely.

‘Could she be aiming for “Song So-ha’?’

It was already common knowledge that Jung-woo was cast as the male lead Kim Si-hwan. If Joo Sooyeon was aiming for the Song So-ha role, it would deflate the morale of many other actresses. Any casting director in Joo Sooyeon’s position would likely choose her as Song So-ha over others.

But…

‘Who was originally cast for the role of Joo Ha-rin?’

Sooyeon wasn’t particularly interested in the Song So-ha role. Her focus lay solely on Joo Ha-rin.

And…

‘This guy.’

The young actor – possibly an idol – with a delicate appearance who was now looking at her.

A familiar face, understandably.

‘He played a role that had a connection with Joo Ha-rin in the drama.’

Sooyeon quietly glanced up at Ma Yeon-woo.

Observing the two, Park Jung-woo’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

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