“Yes. I watched the drama finale.”

“And did you see the list of commercials? So this is the power of a rom-com... Maybe I should’ve done one way earlier.”

“Haha. Do you like romance?”

“To be precise, it’s all this attention being directed at me... Ah....”

How much did she like it?

Enough that she no longer cared about Do Gyeoul’s 〈Dear Judge〉, which was about to air its final episode.

“This brings back memories....”

“The 〈Seoul Metropolitan City〉 script reading?”

Myeong Jeha was referring to the time she had been tense and frozen stiff, but Han Yeoreum was talking about something else.

“No. I mean when that elder scared me by saying replacing someone in a role was no big deal.”

Back then she'd been terrified she'd get kicked off 〈ParCheHi〉.

But now?

Everyone knew that Han Yeoreum, beloved by the nation, was irreplaceable.

“Haha. Did that happen?”

“Don't pretend you don't remember.”

“Right. You got a lot more comfortable with kiss scenes this time. No way they could replace you now.”

“Coming from you? But did you really watch all the way to the end?”

“Yeah. You were the only one acting.”

“That’s a bit much.”

The elder's standards were absurdly high.

People everywhere were praising Seo Eden, saying he'd practically become possessed by Jeon Segye.

“Yeoreum sounds excited.”

The amused voice coming through the receiver somehow sounded ominous.

“Did I do something wrong?”

If she had, then she'd better start crawling.

She'd been born and raised in a Confucian country. She understood the virtue of respecting one's elders.

Myeong Jeha burst into laughter. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“No. See you later.”

Right.

Remembering why she'd called in the first place, Yeoreum hurriedly brought it up.

“My fan meeting is at the end of this month. You'll come as a guest, right, Elder?”

“Hmm... a fan meeting.”

She had already secured a promise from Joo Junseo.

Still, if possible, having two handsome men appear would provide Summer Day with happiness on two separate days.

Just as she waited for Myeong Jeha's answer—

“I can't go.”

An unexpected response arrived.

“What?! Why?!”

If she invited Seo Eden, Summer Day would start wondering whether they might actually be dating.

Kwon Junhyeok had been invited too recently, making things awkward.

Senior Han Yohan wasn't suited for stage appearances.

And Senior Seo Jin?

I'm already planning how to steal my fans from him in advance....

That was like leaving fish in the care of a cat.

Absolutely impossible.

Not a single member of Summer Day could be allowed to defect.

“Ah... I left the slot open because I was counting on you....”

“Haha. Sorry.”

“If I'd known this would happen, I would've made more actor friends....”

Why did she know so few male actors?

She regretted not having calculated things more strategically in advance and arranged useful connections for situations exactly like this.

A quiet laugh came from the other side.

“That dress suited you.”

“Oh please. What doesn't suit me?”

“See you later.”

After hanging up, Yeoreum immediately began revising the fan-meeting schedule.

Originally, she'd planned to invite Joo Junseo and Gaeul on the first day for a 〈ParCheHi〉 atmosphere, then invite the elder and Dami on the second day for a Daehan Arts General University classmate gathering.

But—

“<We Rund> left too strong an impression. If I revive that pairing, the focus won't be on me. It'll turn into the GiYeon couple again....”

How was she supposed to rearrange this?

Maybe Gaeul and Dami on the first day.

Then Joo Junseo and Senior Kwak Cheolsik on the second, dividing things between 〈Youth Disqualified!〉 and 〈Faster Than the Law〉.

The guitar performance could stay exclusive to the first day to balance things out....

“But I never asked why he can't come.”

She'd been so focused on the fan meeting that she'd forgotten to ask about Myeong Jeha's schedule.

He hadn't mentioned a new project.

So what was it?

* * *

“Who are you talking to that has you smiling like that?”

Manager Na of Noble Actors stared at Myeong Jeha, who seemed to be smiling more than usual.

“Ah, Yeoreum.”

“Whywhathappenedhowcomeyouweretalkingtoher?”

The moment the name of the rapidly rising actress came up, Manager Na went on full alert.

I should've stopped that Shim Juhwan music video no matter what...!

Myeong Jeha was much younger, yet somehow impossible to oppose.

Manager Na always found himself being dragged along.

Before he realized it, everything had somehow turned out exactly the way Myeong Jeha wanted.

And the song itself had been such a perfect fit for autumn that it had climbed back into the Top 10 of the music charts.

As someone constantly on guard against dating rumors, Manager Na was growing increasingly anxious.

“She asked me to come to her fan meeting.”

“So? You didn't say yes, did you?”

His eyes widened.

Even if it was Myeong Jeha.

Even if the guy always acted like he stood on top of everyone else's heads.

Not this time.

Absolutely not.

Just as he was preparing to stop it at all costs—

“I told her no. Haha.”

“Right? Right?! I knew it!”

Suppressing the urge to ask Is this a dating rumor? he instead asked:

“B-but why not? You've rejected so many scripts lately that our schedule isn't actually that packed except for that one thing.”

“Hm... because I'd rather not add another item to the future list of Myeong Jeha controversies.”

Smiling mysteriously, Myeong Jeha left behind an incomprehensible answer and disappeared.

As always, his hit-and-run style of conversation was effortless.

Still, Manager Na felt relieved.

“Ah... thank God.... It's not a dating rumor, right?”

Lately, Myeong Jeha had seemed genuinely interested in acting.

He'd even voluntarily taken on that schedule, something that would've been unthinkable before.

Meetings regarding that schedule were currently in full swing at Noble Actors.

Feeling refreshed and completely at ease, Manager Na spent a busy day and finally lay down at home.

Then suddenly—

“No, wait. Fuck.”

A realization struck him like lightning.

“Why would simply attending a coworker's fan meeting end up on a controversy list?”

He shot upright from bed, face turning pale.

“Unless... unless people later say they'd already been flirting back then when the dating rumor comes out...?”

Managing Myeong Jeha wasn't like managing an actor famous for scandals.

This was a completely different level of difficulty.

Manager Na let out a deep sigh.

“It's not a dating rumor, right???”

* * *

Filming was wrapping up for 〈Tamhok〉, 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉, and 〈Dear Judge〉.

Sitting in her chair waiting for the next shot, Do Gyeoul controlled her expression as she always did.

That wasn't difficult.

She had spent her entire life suppressing emotions in front of others.

Every day.

Every moment.

A continuous performance.

As a result, there was always a tightness beneath her sternum.

But this time was different.

Do Gyeoul knew exactly what was happening outside.

〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 had reached 20% ratings and was charging forward alone.

After Han Yeoreum's Lee Seohae and Do Gyeoul's Kang Yeseul had been compared, countless videos had appeared online.

INTUBE

[Daehan Arts General University Acting Style vs Chungang University Acting Style]

11,228,289 views

-Looking at it this way, each school really does have its own style lol

-Chungang feels more commercial somehow... Like they'll definitely end up in big-budget productions. Daehan Arts feels more artistic? Like they'd do whatever they want even if there's no money.

↳ That's actually accurate. Daehan Arts feels like they kidnapped a real person off the street and put them on screen. Chungang feels like you're watching someone perform a character. As celebrities, the latter wins. As actors, the former absolutely destroys.

-The Chungang side has more weight. Their voices are all lower and more authoritative lol

↳ Daehan Arts teaches a lot of physical acting while Chungang focuses heavily on voice work.

The conversation had shifted.

At first people talked about how Kang Yeseul and Lee Seohae felt similar.

Now they were treating it as nothing more than the distinctive acting styles of different schools.

Without understanding anything.

Do Gyeoul lived every day with the overwhelming urge to scream exactly that.

It felt as though the entire world was pointing fingers at her and saying:

You were never special.

The confusion was unbearable.

Contradictory emotions that couldn't be summarized in a single sentence tormented her.

There had been times when she arrogantly believed nobody could ever recognize traces of her acting inside Han Yeoreum's performances.

And there had been times when she desperately wished someone would notice every tiny detail and nuance.

But not like this.

Not now.

Not after Han Yeoreum had broken through 20% ratings and truly taken the position of protagonist.

“It's like they're saying we aren't even comparable....”

-I admit Do Gyeoul is an amazing actress and early Kang Yeseul is an all-time legendary character... but honestly she feels wasted in this drama T_T It's not enough to carry the show on the character alone. The story itself is kind of boring. Seo Jeongwon is giving a career-best performance too but the overall weight class just isn't that interesting.

Acting was a skill.

Whether happy or sad.

Whether in good condition or bad.

Producing the same quality of tears and rage every single episode.

The great Russian acting master Stanislavski had systematized physical actions and memory-trigger techniques to evoke specific emotions.

Rather than waiting for inspiration, actors performed certain movements or breathing patterns to generate emotional output.

Like a machine activated by pressing a button.

Learning emotions and reproducing them as a process.

That was the foundation of acting.

And it was Do Gyeoul's greatest strength.

Then came understanding camera angles.

Tilting one's head by a few degrees.

A subtle tremor of the fingers.

A suppressed vibration in the vocal cords.

Tension in the shoulders.

She had perfected every technical aspect.

She should have been able to move on to the next stage.

She could have.

-Every time Kang Yeseul appears on screen I unconsciously stop breathing T_T She's amazing but she's way too scary. I've never seen a character like this before. Makes me want to run away.

-Gyeoul-~ I'm cheering for your transformation as an actress, but maybe it's too early right now T_T Both the character and the acting are so intensely overwhelming. I feel like I'll keep thinking about her in every future project...

Where?

Exactly where?

-I came because everyone said she was similar to Lee Seohae and got super excited. But this isn't the same flavor at all.

↳ 222. Totally different vibe from Lee Seohae lol

-Feels like the director and writer don't understand moderation T_T Kang Yeseul would've benefited from being pulled back at the right moments.

What exactly was different?

Her ratings had never fallen like this before.

Do Gyeoul bit into the soft flesh inside her mouth.

Months of biting and chewing during filming had left the inside of her mouth raw.

Excessive stress and pressure made her entire body throb.

The first real performance she had ever shown.

She had never learned where it was supposed to stop.

Or how.

“Gyeoul?”

“...Yeah.”

Her manager called her name, interrupting the spiral of thoughts consuming her.

As always, because her life itself was an act, she immediately controlled her expression.

“The director says we're rolling. Are you feeling okay? Good grief, look at all that sweat.”

“Ah....”

Cold sweat was running down her forehead.

Without realizing it, Gyeoul remembered that moment.

That moment when all of her senses sharpened and every ounce of her attention had been focused on Han Yeoreum.

“It just works.”

Han Yeoreum's answer.

That terrible answer.

“That's just how I am.”

* * *

Unlike the gloomy atmosphere of the 〈Dear Judge〉 set, the 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 team was cheerful.

“Isn't it way too beautiful for our final filming day...? Everyone's sad too, right?”

“Yeeees—”

“I'm gonna cry—”

“Don't be sad, everyone.... I'm going to take selfies with each and every one of you!”

When one person becomes too much of a villain, the rest of the team naturally grows closer.

It wasn't even a partial script anymore.

Woo Seungri had been sending scripts one hour at a time on sticky notes.

As a result, the second half of 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 was practically carried by the chemistry between Yoo Jiuk and Hong Suryeon.

Since Hong Suryeon's face appeared more often, more prominently, and much closer than the directing ever did, the production ranked first in beauty if nothing else.

“Still, we'll finish with the highest ratings, right...?”

The viewers abandoning 〈Dear Judge〉 had switched to 〈Tamhok〉 for a simple reason.

People who didn't watch romance would never watch romance.

Likewise, there were people who watched nothing but romance.

And those people watched only romance.

Since 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 had ended at 20% ratings, it was only natural that those viewers would move to 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉.

The next Wednesday-Thursday MBS drama wasn't a romance.

If the final episode took first place, it would validate Writer Hwang's reputation while preserving Hong Suryeon's star power.

It wasn't a bad outcome.

As long as they widened the ratings gap against Eun Baekhap.

Losing to a top-tier writer wasn't embarrassing.

“Who decided that?”

Unfortunately, their opponent was JC ENM.

The undisputed king of attention-seeking chaos.

Even insane broadcasters thought twice before picking a fight with them.

“Lock the doors.”

Director Hong completely blocked the exits to prevent viewers from leaving.

[Drama/Movie/Actor TALK / DongRo ended so well but I'm sad... T_T]

[Drama/Movie/Actor TALK / I was only gonna watch two episodes then switch, and suddenly it was the finale]

[Drama/Movie/Actor TALK / Will I ever see chemistry like that loser-couple pairing again? I can't let them go lol]

[Drama/Movie/Actor TALK / The wedding scene using Jeon Segye's song was insane]

For viewers still unable to let go of the loser-couple pairing from the perfectly concluded 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉—

JC ENM and MBS dropped something huge.

[Drama/Movie/Actor TALK / HOLY SHIT, DONGRO SPECIAL EPISODE ANNOUNCED]