November 5th.
Two days before the new rival, “Guardians: Seven Heroes,” was set to premiere, our movie finally hit ten million viewers.
Final score: 10,020,000.
It was close, but we still managed to surpass it.
It’s still a bit surreal.
It was a rather ambitious production, costing nearly 20 billion won just for CG alone, and the actors delivered outstanding performances, but even so, it feels like we were really lucky.
Especially since the story itself was rather niche.
I mean, who would have thought that throwing away the side-scripts halfway through filming and even promoting stunt actress Ellie to a major supporting role would work out so well?
Not to mention, we started shooting in the U.S.
People really are unpredictable, huh.
“Is this why box office success is something no one can truly predict?”
Regardless, we’ve already declared our victory, and all we need to do now is reap the rewards.
Last year, there was no movie with ten million viewers, and this year, ours stands alone as the sole domestic movie to hit ten million.
Given how rare it is, and especially with how the box office is struggling these days, this record is all the more precious.
Here’s something funny — even in this era, a lot of industry people still value movies more than dramas.
Our movie essentially casts every actor from the Secret Order Half Blood as the main characters, but it’s clear that the standout figures were me and Heavenly Yuah. So naturally, I’m expected to benefit significantly from this.
And, well, benefits usually mean more projects, right?
I anticipate more and better offers coming my way compared to before.
“Hahaha, those friends? They’re such fun people. Their passion for acting is extraordinary.”
“Ah, so you saw that. I laughed until I cried trying to hold it in. But still, they managed to pull it off perfectly, as they always do.”
And speaking of those who benefit, we mustn’t forget Code Number 6, the veteran actor Kang Du-cheon, who delivered a stellar performance as the two-faced villain.
Since the main cast of this movie didn’t appear on a terrestrial variety show, Kang Du-cheon unintentionally became a major beneficiary.
Whenever a Heavenly Yuah movie becomes a hit, other actors who’ve worked with her generally appear on variety shows and share updates about her, whether intentionally or not.
Given how valuable updates about Heavenly Yuah are.
Even without personal stories, having her professional news still holds some weight.
But this time, there was only Kang Du-cheon to carry that role, and he even appeared on Everyday, Flame, showcasing his close relationship with us.
Didn’t he make us rosé pasta during that episode?
I was truly surprised by the man who looks like a rogue but turns out to be quite the charmer.
Still, because of his proven close relationship with us, he’s more trustworthy than other actors who just claim to be close, and he’s been called upon often.
Meanwhile, Mojiri (the idol) is busy producing her new album, and Seo Jin-seop isn’t one to avoid such bustling activities.
He seems to genuinely enjoy such things, which has allowed him to enjoy his activities fully.
“So, what about the ten million viewer promise?”
“There isn’t any.”
“… Really? That’s surprising.”
“Because what the fans want is already so clear.”
“Everyday, Flame, 100 episodes?”
“Obviously, that’s impossible, and the fans know that.”
“Still, we have to at least pretend, right?”
“Of course. Just that should be sufficient.”
We didn’t anticipate the movie hitting ten million viewers, so we really didn’t think about any promises.
The 4-million-viewer promise was already decided by a fan vote, so that was handled early on. The ten-million mark, however, was more complicated.
We consulted our fans again about what they’d like in a promise, and they said they didn’t need anything elaborate—just keep uploading Everyday, Flame regularly.
“More popular than I imagined.”
The small elements we fill in for Everyday, Flame have garnered much more popularity than I expected.
What did we shoot recently? Oh, right. Quiz showdown.
Our media management team leader Hong suggested a trivia quiz on the spot, the actors responded without much thought, and ended up embarrassing themselves thoroughly.
It was the first time I realized just how ignorant I was.
“As expected from Nana and Moon Suyeon, but really, Nam Hyun-ho?”
Skipping high school curriculum like Moon Suyeon or I, who skipped 50 years, makes it normal to not know much, but it was unexpected to see Nam Hyun-ho, who has followed the regular curriculum, struggling badly.
The amusing thing about him was that he answered ‘splitting factions’ when given an example like ‘Wubiandang Wangdaotangtang WuDangWuPian WangDaoPingPing’ (無偏無黨 王道蕩蕩 無黨無偏 王道平平).
That’s just a guy lacking common sense.
“At least Yu-a stood out, though…”
The only standout was Heavenly Yuah. She seems to know a lot of irrelevant things and has a surprising understanding of Korean history, despite being foreign.
But Flame isn’t that forgiving.
Our company’s duty is to extract the most entertaining moments, so they showered her with absurd questions.
Goodness, a car’s grave making “brrrrr,” or this week’s bibimbap being fresher than the old one.
Where did these questions even come from?
And on that day, our CEO seemed surprisingly pleased. Could it be…?
Anyway, it was an entertainingly absurd filming session.
And even this utterly confusing quiz episode garnered an overwhelming response.
It’s strange, I guess — our company’s mysterious artists simply making mistakes and it turns out fans find it satisfying.
“But why bring this up? These people are surprisingly intuitive. This was supposed to be gone soon.”
Just as the story of its termination was coming into play, those precise requests came in, which was quite interesting.
There were many comments that this regular filming was quietly bothering people.
Did the fans already foresee that lazy actors like us wouldn’t keep up this schedule?
After doing fandom for a few years, the core eventually becomes visible, so maybe that’s what happened.
Anyhow, it seems we’ll continue to film this for a while.
“So, what’s the topic today?”
“We’ve invited Pentaring as a special guest.”
“Ah, like with veteran actor Kang Du-cheon? Still, they…”
“It’s a ten million special, right? Two birds with one stone?”
Pentaring.
Well, it makes sense considering their contribution to this movie.
“Hello!! This is Pentaring!”
Due to fan demand, the supposedly cancelled Everyday, Flame is staying around, and Pentaring visited our company specifically for today’s filming.
Our Mojiri will also join as a guest, responding to the fans’ love, given that she too benefited from this movie.
And what Pentaring is doing first? An incredible vocal lesson, specifically tailored for their new song.
“PMC gave their consent pretty easily.”
“Maybe they figured it out? Also, promotion while we’re at it.”
“True, good point.”
When reaching out to PMC to invite Mojiri as a guest on Everyday, Flame, PMC suggested sending all their members.
And they asked if they could have a vocal lesson as well.
Given that they are preparing for a comeback with Moon Suyeon’s new song, this is probably PMC’s opportunity to promote while they can.
And naturally, they are also planning to let it be known that Pentaring received a new song from Luna.
This way, even if parts of the track get leaked during the lesson, the publicity value makes it worthwhile.
If Pentaring can pull compliments from Luna, that’d be great.
Even if not, learning under Luna herself isn’t too bad.
After all, their mere presence together on screen has value.
Moon Suyeon, who wanted to make a good impression on Mojiri, accepted the company’s proposal, leading to today’s filming.
“I’m sure they’ve practiced hard, but will they actually improve?”
“Let’s see. Music-wise, at least….”
“Ah, Moon Suyeon is pretty intense when it comes to music.”
The next title track of Pentaring composed and guided by Luna herself.
Perhaps out of pride, the members of Pentaring waiting in the recording studio seem quite nervous.
It could be due to her notorious reputation in the K-pop industry.
Knowing the situation, Moon Suyeon surely won’t say anything too harsh, but given her high standards and unique character, there may be some awkward scenes.
“Well, judging by the lyrics, they’re pretty good. They fit well with the song’s mood, so it should be a hit.”
“Thank you!”
“Great, let’s hear it once.”
Having inspected the lyrics, Moon Suyeon begins with compliments about the lyrics and starts the lesson.
As she carefully listens to each member’s personal part, she is pointing out a few things during Hyoung’s part.
“It’s spring~ coming it seems~ The flowers are blooming.”
“Hold on, Hyoung. Um, how to say this…”
“Yes?”
“According to the lyric, it’s not technically spring yet. It’s still winter. But I feel like you’re singing it as if the spring has truly come and flowers are out. So…”
“Yes…”
“So basically…”
“What does she mean by that?”
“Exactly. It’s not really a clear explanation.”
Typical Moon Suyeon.
She’s passionately explaining, but no one quite understands.
Even Mojiri seems confused, her pupils wildly flickering.
“Aah, right. Listen. Right now, you’re singing, ‘It’s spring~ coming it seems~ The flowers are blooming.’ But instead, sing it like this: ‘It’s spring~ coming it seems~ The flowers are blooming.’ Can you feel the difference?”
“… Ah, like this? It’s spring~ coming it seems~ The flowers are blooming.”
“Hmm, imagine it a bit like the buds are forming. ‘It’s spring~ coming it seems~ The flowers are blooming.'”
Listening carefully, you can feel the difference.
There’s a certain nuanced feel to it.
It’s just so subtle that it’s hard to explain how it’s different.
No matter how much detail makes perfection, how are we supposed to follow that?
The depth of expression is just on an entirely different level here.
“Even Moon Suyeon cannot really be a good teacher.”
“The students might all run away.”
Moreover, explaining like that will help very few people understand.
Our Mojiri has met the perfect teacher of bullying.
It’s the kind of situation where she won’t move on to the next part until she gets it exactly right.
True to my prediction, Mojiri got stuck on this particular part for quite a long time and underwent serious training.
“…I’m exhausted.”
When Mojiri finally came out of the recording booth, she had dark circles under her eyes.
She looked utterly drained.
However strong a leader Mojiri is, she couldn’t hold her ground in front of the legendary veteran Luna.
There was no denying how satisfying it was to see her go through this.
