It had been three days since the shocking music video shoot.
Today was the day of the press conference for Gold Rush, Joseon.
Even though we were in a situation where we’d somewhat withdrawn from active promotion, there was no avoiding these sorts of official schedules.
All the actors, including myself, were busy getting all dressed up early in the morning.
“How do I look?”
“Great on you.”
“Siwoo, how about me?”
“Looks great on you.”
“Why does everyone react the same?”
“I’m just being honest. You two both look absolutely beautiful.”
Heavenly Yuah today was dressed in a H-line long skirt that gave off a feminine vibe, silk blouse, and a purple jacket to add a touch of style.
Elegant and refined.
Could that purple jacket have been chosen to bring out the similarities to her character, Violet, who always seems to be draped in something purple?
She’s a woman who shines no matter what she wears, but today she seemed especially radiant.
Moon Suyeon was dressed in a black mini dress, with a red rose accessory at the chest area as a highlight. Her hair was adorned with a matching red rose hairpin, and even her high-heeled enamel shoes were accented with red roses. It couldn’t get more perfect than this.
While Heavenly Yuah’s theme was elegance, this one exuded allure.
The smooth stretch from her legs up to the gentle curve connecting her waist and chest seemed like it would be quite the heart-stealer.
As they both kept asking how they looked, I could only tell them that their outfits fit them perfectly.
After that, both women suddenly had slightly pouty expressions.
What’s wrong? I told them they looked great, didn’t I?
No matter how well I might think I know these two personalities, I can never really understand this side of them.
“What exactly happens at a press conference?”
“Ah, is this your first press conference, Siwoo?”
“Guess so. Since I wasn’t invited to one during my first project. Come to think of it, isn’t this Suyeon-senpai’s first press conference as well?”
“Yeah, that’s right. I’ve done showcases before, but these seem different, right?”
It wasn’t wise to keep talking on this topic, since it only seemed like it would lead to me being teased. I decided to shift the topic back to the press conference as I was truly curious about it.
So, the experienced press conference expert, Heavenly Yuah, began sharing her own experiences. There was nothing particularly difficult—just answering a few questions from reporters.
“Reporters…”
Sure enough, quite a number of reporters were expected to show up.
As soon as we signed with Finesse, a lot of materials were released. The teaser video, especially, stood out the most.
The 50-second teaser video opened with 20 seconds of steampunk scenery and then distributed six seconds each for five characters, totaling 30 seconds, and the reception was already fiery.
Especially because of Heavenly Yuah’s Violet-styled costume and Moon Suyeon’s seductive see-through outfit, things were already in an uproar.
In comparison, should we mention the male actors stepping back?
As impressive as Nam Hyun-ho and Lion may be, their impact was overshadowed by these two.
Of course, Heavenly Yuah had showcased a blonde hairstyle before in “The Genius Copywriter, Yoon Seo-eun,” but that was just a cameo. This was her first time genuinely playing a role in her true self.
Mostly, she had acted using wigs and contact lenses.
In any case, “Gold Rush, Joseon” was a feast for the reporters.
It’s both natural and desirable that many reporters have gathered for this press conference. After all, the press conference exists as part of a publicity campaign. Hosting it just three days before the premiere is to attract more attention. For it to have the desired promotional effect, the reporters need to come and stir up noise.
While live versions of the press conference were sure to be posted on Finesse’s side or on YouTube, it’s still better for the event to generate more articles.
However, with this crowd of reporters, we also had to be prepared for rogue elements.
I guess that must be what Heavenly Yuah was trying to tell me.
“Of course, there’s some pre-arrangement, but every now and then, unusual questions still arise. Just be aware of that.”
“Is that so? Aren’t those questions more likely to be directed at Suyeon-senpai? There’s been talk since she changed companies.”
“This… Are you worried about me, Siwoo? I’ve been living amidst controversies anyway, and I’m quite used to reporters.”
“…That’s probably true.”
Due to the serious nature of the broadcasting business, there are attempts to preemptively block anything that might spark strange questions. They pre-select journalists who have good relations with the production company, Phoenix, or confirm questions beforehand.
Of course, since this is done by humans, it’s never perfect, and this industry has more than its fair share of odd individuals. There’s no telling what sort of surprises might arise.
In the case of Moon Suyeon, it seems she’s been harassed enough by reporters that she’s grown accustomed to such situations. Heavenly Yuah, too, is a seasoned veteran who’s experienced all kinds of unexpected situations.
And today, the one who’ll probably face the most questions will either be Moon Suyeon or Heavenly Yuah. Let’s spare a moment to pray for them as they take the lead and shield the rest.
At least, Flame is sensitive about this, and anything that seems inappropriate will be appropriately dealt with. This company is quite serious about turning people “X”-rated.
The production company, Phoenix, must have already conducted countless press conferences and will be sure to preemptively cut any inappropriate questions.
For my part, it feels like I’m just a minor actor, so I’ll just quietly watch and return.
The press conference site for Gold Rush, Joseon* had more reporters than I expected.
This was the first time I’d seen so many reporters gather in person.
Of course, I’d seen it on screens or photos before, where reporters would swarm like a herd at major press conferences.
But experiencing it in real life, the impact was far greater than I’d imagined.
“Things are looking good. More have shown up than expected.”
If even Heavenly Yuah said that, it seems this show is truly garnering a lot of interest.
It’s impressive that my first leading project is receiving this much attention, even if it’s not directly aimed at me. I feel pretty good about it.
Today’s press conference featured six participants in total: Heavenly Yuah, Moon Suyeon, Nam Hyun-ho, Lion, myself, and the director.
Kang Ji-woo declined to attend, saying that these things are better left for the younger generation to figure out?
It seems she’s pretty picky when she’s at her prime.
And Yang Yuli.
Apparently, Phoenix pushed hard for her participation. They must’ve thought that bringing her out would amplify the “genius writer” image and provide significant promotional effects.
She’s also a pretty cute type, so her visuals must’ve drawn quite a bit of attention.
When looks are on point, you naturally attract more attention, no matter what you do.
From the production company’s perspective, Yang Yuli the writer was someone they wanted to bring for sure. However, I heard she refused to attend. Something about freezing up and trembling if she went.
Understanding her character somewhat, this seemed like another one of those tall tales to me, but you can’t force someone to do something they don’t want to do.
Business doesn’t operate in a relaxed manner, but Yang Yuli belongs to Flame, and since they’re covering the drama’s production costs, the production company had no choice but to back off.
Because only six of us were there, I felt a lot of eyes on me.
One reporter, in particular, was staring at me in an odd way, and the look in his eyes was quite awkward.
Why is he glaring at me like that?
Did he get scammed by someone who looks like me?
-Let’s start by watching the teasers and previews.
The screen lit up amid a somewhat strange atmosphere. This was because today at this event, two teasers, out of the three made specifically for this show, would be shown for the first time here.
In this teaser, my presence was significant. There were scenes of me dueling with Nam Hyun-ho and some parts of large-scale action scenes selected to raise the anticipation of the audience.
-Oh…
As the two 50-second teasers and the final trailer aired, gasps came from the reporter seats.
It seems what they saw was quite impressive.
From my perspective, my role was also well-presented, and I was fairly satisfied.
Of course, compared to the main episodes, this was barely a taste, but there’s no need to reveal all of your weapons from the start.
We had no doubts in the quality of our work.
-A question for Heavenly Yuah. In this production…
-A question for Nam Hyun-ho. It seems the supporting role is too small for Nam Hyun-ho…
-A question for Moon Suyeon. It’s been four years since her return to acting. Did you…
As the Q&A segment started, the reporters sprang into action.
The content of the questions wasn’t bad, which seems like it was rigorously checked by Phoenix.
More importantly, the lack of strange questions directed at Moon Suyeon was quite satisfying.
With so much attention focused on her, people must feel somewhat burdened to ask inappropriate questions.
Hmm, or maybe not? Maybe these kinds of people don’t put much thought into their questions.
-A question for White Siu.
In the middle of a lively Q&A session, a question came my way.
Interestingly, it was from that ill-fated reporter from before.
Who was it? Kim Byung-su from Daily News?
Since he looked at me like I was a swindler who’d stolen his money, I memorized his name.
What could he possibly ask, looking so dramatic?
-White Siu, it has been mentioned that his being cast as the main lead is thanks to Heavenly Yuah. The investor, Heavenly Financial, pushed for both Heavenly Yuah and White Siu as the main leads, disregarding the production company’s intentions. Is it true that Heavenly Yuah suggested White Siu be cast as the main lead?
Hmm, not completely wrong.
The small discrepancy is that Heavenly Financial didn’t push for both me and Heavenly Yuah to be the leads, but rather that she used her own money to produce the drama and cast herself as well so that I could be the main lead.
Come to think of it, Heavenly Yuah did all that.
That’s embarrassing for the lead actress.
But does this make it stranger?
In other words, this question is asking if I was cast through nepotism or favoritism, but isn’t this more like a forced sale rather than favoritism?
Judging it as a rather awkward question, the event moderator from Phoenix tried to cut it off.
But I grabbed the microphone first.
Since the full version of the press conference would be uploaded to YouTube and would be seen by many people, I felt it would be bad if the atmosphere became awkward over just this question.
“Ah, yeah. If it wasn’t for Heavenly Yua-senpai, I wouldn’t have been able to become the lead in this series.”
“…So you’re admitting to it?”
“Because it’s not wrong, right? Connections, right?”
Seriously, why is the one who asked it so surprised?
Is it the first time anyone here’s ever acknowledged trading on connections?
…
