Sua carefully scanned through the messages with a surprised look on her face.
[Sender: Chef]
▶ Sua, have you become an actor?
[Sender: Park Ho-yoon Trainer]
▶ Member, did you happen to film a short movie?
[Sender: Japanese Tutor]
▶ …Sua, did you deceive me?
Messages came pouring in from everywhere: from her PT trainer, swimming instructor, gaming club… At first, Sua actually enjoyed it for a few minutes.
This was the first time she was receiving this much attention, and it amused her to see the changed attitudes compared to before.
But soon, Sua fell into another dilemma.
‘…But how should I reply to these?’
Should she even reply?
If she did, how should she phrase it?
That’s when a voice spoke up in her mind.
─It’s better not to reply.
That self-assured single line came from Inner Wi Ji-hye.
‘Not to reply?’
─How close were you with each of these people? Were you really that close?
‘Well, there were some I was close to and some I wasn’t. To be honest, most were not close since I didn’t excel in any field I attempted. I got belittled quite a bit.’
─Then it is indeed better not to engage with them.
‘Hmm, is that so?’
But deep inside Sua’s heart stirred a small desire.
It was a mix of petty revenge and greed ─ a wish to show those who once looked down on her how successful she had become now.
However, Wi Ji-hye’s stance was firm.
─Let them only experience your success through articles. There’s no need to directly boast. Once they sense you are boasting, they will turn into rivals.
‘Rivals…’
─Yes, rivals. You still have a long journey ahead compared to what you’ve accomplished so far. Would you like to get entangled?
‘Of course not.’
But Sua thought quietly.
‘Then how about replying only to those I was relatively close to?’
─If you reply to one person, everyone else will feel left out upon not receiving a reply. That’s how human relationships work.
‘Oh, that’s true.’
─So maintain distance and focus on your own work. This way, you can advance without creating enemies.
Wi Ji-hye nodded confidently.
─You might have to deal with them eventually, but not now.
─Even this old woman proves to be useful sometimes.
─After becoming the greatest under heaven, countless people from all over sought me out. This is my expertise.
In the end, Sua decided to follow the advice.
Uuung──
Uuung──
Her phone continued to ring.
She decided to be satisfied with just reading the messages.
For now, she wouldn’t reply. Not yet.
◈◈◈◈◈
At the same time, at the Star Catch headquarters.
Though it was the middle of the night, the inside was as bright as the morning. Kim Sun-a sighed deeply as she took out some coffee that she had stored in the refrigerator.
Excessive work was the cause of her fatigue.
“Everyone is monitoring, right?”
In fact, it was strange for Saeng-ji Kim Sun-a to say such a thing. She herself couldn’t yet believe she was sitting in the position of team leader.
Meanwhile, the employees were burning with passion as if fire had been lit on their bodies.
“Team Leader Kim Sun-a, I will send it out right away.”
Hearing those words, Saeng-ji realized anew.
‘Their attitudes have changed again. Is it all thanks to Sua?’
Due to the article Sua had written aggressively about Kim Yu-han, which partly turned out to be correct, her own standing had risen even further. Her tormenting senior had completely deflated.
A new sense of gratitude arose towards Sua.
Anyway, it was now time to review the monitoring data.
[Special Mobile Unit 808, dazzlingly reviving the dead buddy genre. Episode 1 was like a whirlwind. Where will this go?]
Perhaps due to Star Catch quickly jumping on the Special Mobile Unit 808 bandwagon, other companies were following suit like ghosts.
[Seo Yeon-joo ─ Kim Sun-il, impeccable acting as always. Is ‘Mystic Time?’ indeed the drama to watch this year?]
[Kim Yu-han, delivering and sealing his reputation!]
‘No matter what, Star Catch would’ve achieved this as well, right?’
That’s what Saeng Ji Kim Sun-a thought.
[Special Mobile Unit 808, real-time viewership at 23%?]
The real-time viewership rate was astonishing. If eyes were glued to something, they couldn’t help but be attached to it.
Sun-a’s eyes darted back and forth without rest. To her scrutiny, there was another notable point.
[Who is Lee Su-an who portrayed ‘Kim Yu-han’? Newcomer Award Contender!]
Lee Su-an had become a strong contender for the Newcomer Award.
‘Impressive. It’s been about 3 hours since the first episode ended, right?’
What was astonishing was how quickly public opinion shifted within just a few hours after the first episode aired. His acting was that groundbreaking.
Uuung──
At this moment, Kim Sun-a’s phone vibrated.
[Monkeying: The outlines on the community have been roughly set up.]
[Monkeying: I’ve captured a few popular posts.]
While the employees were monitoring the news articles, Monkeying was collecting reactions from communities as assistance. Being a moderator meant the information was reliable.
[Title: Want you haterz to press the dislike button?]
(Lee Su-an’s storm before the night of reckoning)
[If you doubted Lee Su-an, press the dislike button]
– How could you not have questions about this?
– How did they prove this?
– Please keep this performance until the end.
[Title: If the Newcomer Award is decided, press the dislike button.]
(Scene where Lee Su-an kisses Park Do-hee on the forehead)
[If it’s already decided, press the dislike button.]
– That scene gave me goosebumps.
– His acting was psycho-level, is this real?;
– The person who wrote the screenplay and the person who acted are insane.
[Uniform: Seo Yeon-joo Uniform Compilation]
(A few still cut of Seo Yeon-joo)
[What are you doing? Just upload.]
– Hmm, her legs are truly beautiful.
– Hmm, her ratio is impeccable.
– She is really pure.
– She is short…
[Monkeying: Of course, this is the gallery opinion.]
[Monkeying: Male users are much more numerous.]
[Monkeying: Therefore, I also obtained reactions from the official website.]
Soon after, opinions from the official Special Mobile Unit 808 website were delivered to Saeng-ji Kim Sun-a’s phone.
-Wow, I lost track of time.
-I would’ve regretted it if I hadn’t watched episode 1;
-Indeed, there are so many comments;
-How can I wait until tomorrow?
By the time Saeng-ji finished reviewing one photo, Monkeying had sent another.
The popularity was immense.
-Kim Sun-il and Lee Su-an chemistry is highly welcomed.
-I agree, a romance with Seo Yeon-joo feels less anticipated than this.
-That’s the charm of buddy content.
-I would rather see Kim Sun-il suffer torture, replace Park Do-hee with him.
At this point, one of the employees asked:
“Team Leader Kim Sun-a, it seems like a good chance to increase views before episode 2 airs. What tone should we write with?”
Kim Sun-a thought for a brief moment.
“Maintain the current tone while subtly throwing shade indicating Sua is also a strong Newcomer Award contender.”
It was sound advice. As team leader, she instructed her employees to increase views while simultaneously offering some support to Sua.
◈◈◈◈◈
The next day. Thursday.
The fever surrounding Special Mobile Unit 808 spread like wildfire through the night. Finally, the official production team proudly released the confirmed ratings for the first episode.
[Special Mobile Unit 808, Episode 1 Ratings: 23%]
[Unprecedented Start! Buddy Drama Reborn!]
There was no reason to hold back such a commendable achievement. It needed to be advertised as much as possible.
Naturally, the ripple effect was immense, and it all started on MyTube.
─Hello everyone! This is Hwae King. Recently, the drama market was a bit dull, right? But the atmosphere has completely changed with the emergence of a new topic. The anticipation is sky-high!
─MyTube friends, hello! The curtain finally rose on the mysterious acting skills of Lee Su-an. And guess what?
They too were chasing views just like others, and as a result, they gathered fans like bees to honey.
─Hey, I usually don’t get overly excited. But this piece is truly great. Even my non-drama-watching younger brother sat beside me.
Soon, the official channel also jumped in fast.
[tvS DRAMA (Official)]
[EP1-1: The ‘Mad Dog’ Lee Su-an who broke free from the leash right at the start! #SpecialMobileUnit808]
The quickly released official video consumed views like a black hole. Those who watched the drama yesterday wanted to watch it again, and those who missed it were curious about the scene.
-Please post episodes segmented by characters!
-I’ve rewatched the torture scene countless times…
-Kim Yu-han radiates charisma. We’ve never seen this type of male lead before!
The comment section, as expected, was chaotic.
…
The fire lit by MyTube gradually spread from online to nearly offline areas.
Thursday morning.
[FM Sweet City, Kim Yu-sin Here]
One among those was the radio show hosted by singer Kim Yu-sin.
“Today, we have a guest, Saebom. It’s rare to have a Korean actor who has made it to Hollywood, isn’t it? How have you been lately?”
“Alright.”
“I wonder, how does the always robotic Saebom spend his weekends? Many listeners want to know.”
Kim Yu-sin chuckled.
“I was supposed to record yesterday but ended up watching the drama.”
“I did too. I watched Special Mobile Unit 808.”
Saebom nodded.
“Kim Yu-han, wasn’t he interesting?”
“Saebom found interest? This is unusual.”
…
From Thursday morning, NeoLive broadcasts started.
“Is this Seo Yeon-joo? She looks so refreshing.”
“I know Kim Sun-il! He’s handsome!”
“Ham Ah-yoon! I recognize her, I used to take piano lessons!”
All members except Sika-rin were playing the ‘Recognize the actor’ game in their streams. This was a ‘golden content’ for streamers now, as they too had started to develop interest in the actors, and the audience was requesting such content.
The short film festival and community reactions were raging, and the water-Thursday drama topic had a huge impact.
And now, Sika-rin’s broadcast.
[LIVE]
[Sika-rin’s Chaos, Please Listen! (ᗒᗣ<tool_call>)
