Yang Ha-rin’s agency, CT Entertainment. The representative’s office.
The representative was currently inspecting a laptop, his expression more serene than ever. The screen displayed content related to the ‘Busan International Short Film Festival.’
An employee on guard spoke up.
“It’s now 10:00 AM. By now, the screening of Ha-rin Yang’s ‘Wind’ should have started.”
The representative nodded quietly.
“10:00 AM isn’t too early in the morning anymore, so there should be a decent crowd by now. No issues at all, right?”
“Yes. According to reports from the scene, we’ve had an unprecedented number of people. There’s no need to worry.”
“So we spent a lot this time, and it looks like we’ll be reaping the benefits. Pretty good return.”
“Yes. Once the people have arrived, everyone will focus on Ha-rin. Winning the newcomer award will be a piece of cake.”
“Newcomer award, huh. Yeah, it’s obviously Ha-rin’s.”
The representative nodded, looking satisfied.
“Is this the end of your report?”
Meanwhile, Yang Ha-rin, buried deep in the sofa as if swallowed whole, broke the silence for the first time. Her fingers were still relentlessly tapping on her phone. She was addicted to that community.
“Director Park Jun’s movie. There’s no mention of it in the report.”
CT Entertainment was currently targeting two main objectives.
Yang Ha-rin’s newcomer award and stomping over ‘Mystic.’
For Yang Ha-rin, who had an uneasy conclusion with Sua, it was inevitable to be curious. What had Director Park Jun made with that scrap of a script lying around in the trash?
Most importantly, how was Sua as Wi Ji-hye?
An employee spoke up immediately.
“The screening of ‘Sword’ has likely concluded already since it was right before ‘Wind.'”
“Reactions?”
“We don’t know yet. The report will come soon.”
“Honestly, there’s no real need to hear it anyway.”
The representative snickered.
“Thanks to fate, it’s right before ours. No matter how well they made it, after watching ‘Wind,’ that garbage will be forgotten.”
“Oh, just now a text came in. Apparently, the quality of ‘Sword’ and its reception wasn’t bad…”
“What? Are they outright trashing it at the scene? If the response is just ‘okay,’ it means it’s bland. It has to reach a level where people are cheering. Let’s see how it compares with the reaction to ‘Wind’ after.”
The smile on the representative’s face deepened.
“To begin with, Park Jun is a weird one. Why does he use a newcomer when he could have had Ha-rin? It’s because he has no eye for talent, thus falling further each year.”
The smile faded from his face after speaking. Then, the representative’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.
“Alright, get in touch with all the journalists now. Let’s focus on promoting ‘Wind’ and smear ‘Sword’ as a stupid piece that discarded Ha-rin.”
“We’ll do that.”
“Make ‘Sword’ look like the work of absurdly foolish people who lost Ha-rin, and frame ‘Wind’ as a masterpiece that barely came into being after struggles. Do you get the feel of it?”
“Right. If Ha-rin gets a tragic backstory, we’ll get a flurry of inquiries from the broadcasting stations, no doubt.”
However, after the conversation ended…
“…”
The expression of the employee reporting the situation changed. He began cautiously observing the representative’s mood.
The report was the problem.
…Reports were flooding in, far off from what was expected.
.
.
.
.
.
By afternoon, when the first day of screenings concluded.
An employee rushed into the representative’s office with an urgent look.
“Sir! Sir!”
He had been sent to the scene earlier in the day, and it took only a moment for the gazes of those inside to shift toward him.
“Why all the commotion?”
Was it that good? The representative brimmed with anticipation.
“No. It’s regarding ‘Sword’…”
“Skip the trashed work just because it came right before ours. Tell me how ‘Wind’ is praised. How hot was the scene?”
“The scene was hot, but…”
The dispatched employee continued, looking uneasy.
“Sir, the scene was all about ‘Sword.’ It overshadowed ‘Wind’ completely.”
“What?”
The representative frowned as if hearing some absurd tale, but…
“Of course, Seo Yeon-joo and Kim Sun-il from Mystic acted well as expected. That much was within our expectations. However, the film’s overall quality was unexpectedly good.”
“Does that make sense? At best, it’s only a short film! With a short runtime, and above all, it’s impossible for quality alone to suppress mentions of other works, right?”
“Yes, the real issue is separate.”
The employee swallowed dryly.
“Sua, Sua is the problem.”
“…?”
“Sua acted incredibly well.”
“…”
The expressions of the representative and Yang Ha-rin simultaneously turned blank.
The fact that Sua had convincingly portrayed Wi Ji-hye was completely out of the two minds that had already planned for Sua’s failure after ‘Sword’ was screened.
“Spill all the articles.”
It took a while before the representative spoke. His stuttering articulation betrayed the overwhelming shock.
“‘Wind’ wasn’t created poorly, so…”
“Sir.”
Then another employee in charge of PR spoke up. One who had been waiting for the right moment to interject finally had to open his mouth.
This was a truth that eventually had to be relayed.
“Our PR campaign has also failed.”
“What?”
“They said that Ha-rin’s absence wasn’t really felt. In fact, rather the opposite… a feeling that Ha-rin wouldn’t have been able to evoke…”
After that, there was a long silence.
Yang Ha-rin, who had been on her phone all along, quietly stood up, sighed deeply, and picked up a flowerpot from a corner of the office. And that was the start.
Clang!
“…”
Yang Ha-rin said nothing.
Clang!
She merely kept throwing and smashing things.
◈◈◈◈◈
Meanwhile.
The production team of Special Mobile Unit 808 was as diligent as ever today.
However, among them, the busiest team was the management team of the MyTube channel of ‘Special Mobile Unit 808,’ for today was the day to upload a teaser.
[ Special Mobile Unit 808 Kim Sun-il X Seo Yeon-joo X ??? X Hwang Myung-pil Teaser EP.0 Day 1 complaints from Kim Sun-il – What’s the reason?! ]
[ tvS DRAMA ]
The runtime is exactly 31 seconds.
It was a very short running time, but in that time, the content was so intense and packed with critical moments. It was so fast-paced that watchers couldn’t even blink.
『Special Mobile Unit 808.』
It began with Seo Yeon-joo’s voice, standing in front of journalists.
And quickly, the screen changed. This time, Kim Sun-il’s voice.
『We’re allowed 24 hours. Identifying and arresting the criminal is the principle. There are no exceptions. Got it?』
While slowly speaking, various scenes flashed by.
The scene of yellow tape marked ‘Special Mobile Unit 808,’ Park Do-hee with a meaningful expression, Hwang Myung-pil with an evil smirk, Kim Sun-il briskly running around.
And then.
A random, humorous line that breaks the serious atmosphere.
『Hmm, I’m not sure about that?』
A silhouette hiding beneath a white fringe covering their eyes. Although one might suspect them as the criminal, the uniform clearly matched Lee Kang-cheol.
『Hello.』
A gender-neutral voice, compelling one to listen again to discern what kind of tone exactly.
『I’m Kim Yu-han.』
And then, the decisive final line.
The comment sections and entire community exploded.
– Who’s this? This actor is absolutely new, who is he?
– He’s crazy good-looking man ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
– Wow, this presence is insane.
After all, Kim Yu-han’s face was revealed for the first time, albeit briefly. Naturally, it became a huge topic of discussion among those who were looking forward to Special Mobile Unit 808.
…Here’s another one.
“…”
A person holding onto bandages while using a phone.
“…”
It was Yang Ha-rin, whose mood had hit rock bottom.
“…What is this?”
Just a glance at the screen.
Just one glimpse of a smile was enough.
Thump…thump…
For the first time in a while, Yang Ha-rin’s heart started racing.
◈◈◈◈◈
At the same time, Gwangalli Beach, Busan.
Jangjang!
A polar fox appeared against the sea breeze!
“Busan, greet the arctic fox!”
Sua internally played an effect sound. Her shoulders were high with anticipation, and for a good reason. She was lauded wherever she went today.
“Sure, the comments about my behind were a bit embarrassing…”
Sua’s face slightly reddened.
Men who came in groups would occasionally openly praise Sua’s figure, but even so, praise is praise, right? Plus, the remarks about Wi Ji-hye were quite numerous too.
Still, Sua looked around after arriving.
And she found them.
“Oh, there they are.”
Was it because the weather was good today?
Gwangalli Beach was bustling with people either hunting for dates or relaxing with picnic mats and enjoying music. The waves added a pleasant touch. It looked enjoyable.
“?…”
Considering these factors.
“…Is the shock too much?”
Sua’s chat room members seemed like they had landed in another world. While others enjoyed the drinks and sea waves, their expressions were incredibly grave.
Especially Gaebbyeok Go Eun-bi. She looked particularly serious.
Sua thought about it for a moment.
“Hey.”
So she raised her hand. After all, her career as an actress was public knowledge now and it was nice to see each other.
“Hey, everyone.”
As everyone’s heads turned toward her.
“…”
There was silence momentarily.
“…”
It lasted even longer until Sua, who didn’t understand what was going on, started feeling the situation was pretty serious.
Did I commit a terrible sin?
Or is the hair dye the shock?
Then Sua started reviewing the possibilities, but soon the chat room members gathered together for a brief meeting.
And after a bit,
Seon-a Kim Sun-a walked a few steps toward Sua.
“Hey, Sua.”
“Uh?”
“Do you know who we are?”
“Of course, I do. What is that supposed to mean?”
Sua pointed out each one with her finger, correctly identifying them: Seon-a, Heukgom, Monkeying, Gaebbyeok…but upon getting the identifications correct, they instead wore strange expressions.
They consulted again among themselves and Seon-a stepped forward this time.
“Sua.”
“Yeah?”
“I have a few questions.”
Sua involuntarily tensed up.
“Huh? Erm…”
“Have you ever heard that the Earth is flat?”
“Eh?”
However, Sua soon became flustered. The question was completely unexpected.
‘What does Earth have to do with this?’
But there was a sense that she couldn’t just throw out a random answer.
First, Kim Sun-a’s voice was uncharacteristically low, and the members of Sua’s chat group were unusually serious.
—Can’t let them see an unprepared side of myself in this long-awaited meeting.
—I’ll help.
Fwoosh!
Suddenly, Wijihye-Sua injected information, and Sua shook her head.
“Uh, Sun-a, what are you talking about? The altitude of Polaris changes depending on latitude, and the Earth’s round shape is evident just by observing its shadow during a lunar eclipse. Why are you saying absurd things right after we meet…?”
“…”
And yet, strangely enough, Kim Sun-a’s expression grew even more serious. This time, Heukgom spoke up.
“Sua, do you remember anything about cosmology?”
“Cosmology?”
“Right, from that previous conversation when you fell asleep…”
“Ah, that… Hmm…”
Fwoosh!
Once again, information was injected into Sua’s mind, this time temporarily. There was a warning that her intellect couldn’t possibly handle it yet.
Still, Sua opened her mouth.
“Cosmology is too abstract. Specify if you’re talking about something rooted in the geocentric model, heliocentric model, or perhaps the Big Bang cosmological theory?”
Satisfied with her own brilliant answer, she internally declared,
“I’m the arctic fox, Sua!”
“A magnificent actor, a smart person, back with brilliance!”
“Adore me! Applaud me! Raise me up!”
Then,
“Hey—!”
It was Gaebbyeok shouting.
Sua was startled immediately. Looking closer, Gaebbyeok Go Eun-bi had tears brimming in her eyes.
“Where is our Sua!”
“Huh?”
Sua blinked.
What? I’m Sua…
No, the phrase “our Sua” was more shocking.
What’s with that chilling statement? Didn’t you dislike me?
“Where is our Sua? You wretched being!”
That was the signal.
“Our Sua, where are you!”
“You criminal!”
“Grab that kid! Return Sua!”
Tatdatdat—!
Suddenly, all the chat room members sprinted over like track athletes.
Almost immediately, she realized…
…If I get caught, my head is gonna explode at the very least.
“What, what…”
So Sua started running too.
Instinct.
“Wha- What’s your problem! Are you crazy? Why are you doing this?”
The most deranged-looking person shouted.
“Sto— Stop chasing me! Let’s talk!”
Dadadada—!
Sand flying everywhere!
