Revenge Begins: Reincarnated as a Hated Idol!-Chapter 33: Shattered Prejudices

In their previous dramas, the cast would do cringeworthy acting, which had also spoiled the reputation of AxisPlay.

Viewers had a set stereotype against dramas produced by AxisPlay.

However, when they clicked on the first episode, all such biases were shattered.

The school building seemed genuine and pristine; the students’ uniforms were immaculate; the acting of the female lead wasn’t bad.

And then they met Shin. Suddenly, they were hooked by the drama, proceeding to watch the second episode as well.

They found themselves giggling at Shin’s and Leah’s bond while empathizing with Nataly.

Some were aware of Aren’s reputation in his time as a member of Ventage, while some were completely in the dark, but this didn’t affect their impression of Shin.

[It’s hard not to be captivated by Shin.]

[Shin is so ridiculously handsome! I’m just a sucker for looks, and I was hooked by his GIFs. Who can even resist such a prince-like character?]

[I’m more interested in seeing Shin and Leah than Nataly. Am I biased?]

[When I saw those GIFs of Shin, I thought they were heavily edited, but after watching the drama, I realized they were stills straight from the show.]

[That scene of Shin’s entrance? I only rewatched it twenty times.]

[I was unable to sleep in the middle of night and stumbled across some handsome stills from the drama, decided to check out the drama. Now I can’t wait for the next release!]

[A handsome actor who can’t act is just a pretty painting, just good enough to look at. But if that painting can immerse you in it with good acting, then that’s something magical. Shin is that magic for me.]

[To be honest, I’ve seen The Insiders first, but instead of enjoying it, I was more afraid of Theon appearing and doing his awkward cringey acting. To Your Heart just excites me more.]

Under discussions about To Your Heart, the phrase "Shin is handsome" recurred often. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Although Ventage had a substantial fanbase and following, the television audience was still significantly broader. Most viewers didn’t care much about what Aren had done during his time with Ventage. As long as the plot and characters were engaging, that was all that mattered.

Once this group of viewers was hooked, To Your Heart’s viewership naturally began to climb.

...

As the dramas of both Ventage members had claimed the top spots, several media outlets began to make comparisons between Aren’s portrayal of Shin and Theon’s performance.

The honest media houses detailed all the flaws in Theon’s acting while, at the same time, praised Aren.

In order to showcase his skills, Theon came off as stiff during calmer sequences and overly dramatic during emotional moments, his features contorting unnaturally.

While Theon’s looks were decent by Ventage’s standards, they were mediocre amid the wider showbiz realm.

On stage, heavy makeup could compensate for his imperfections, but on television, the more distorted his expressions grew, the less flattering he appeared.

This gave rise to a disconnect between him and his character.

The honest media outlets penned facts and deemed Aren’s portrayal superior, whereas the ones paid by Blackshore Management labeled Aren’s performance generic and rudimentary without any justification or rationale, proclaiming Theon better.

The audience, however, wasn’t foolish. The truth was bare in front of everyone to see.

...

The Insiders Production Team

Theon naturally noticed that To Your Heart had taken the second spot on the day’s top ten viewership rankings.

Despite To Your Heart attaining second, Theon never entertained the idea of it ever surpassing The Insiders.

There was still a 29,000 difference between their popularity scores, and this gap would only grow as viewers would begin choosing the obviously superior show.

With its star-studded ensemble, The Insiders would inevitably come out on top.

What did To Your Heart even have?

A cheap budget, non-existent stars, and Aren’s face?

If looks were all it took, Aren would have been Ventage’s top member ages ago!

Theon was obviously agitated when he saw Aren’s GIFs and stills from the drama.

"How did he suddenly get so handsome?"

He threw his phone in anger when he saw it.

It was as if he was looking at Aren from the time of Ventage’s debut, but even that Aren would pale to the current version.

Currently, Aren looked more sculpted and defined than he had ever looked around Ventage’s debut.

However, Theon was still reminded of the time when he had first seen Aren.

Back then, Aren had been the visual of the group, and it was mainly due to him that the group managed to stand out from other idol groups.

Theon had begun hating him from that very moment. Aren didn’t have any skills other than his looks, and he was given a spot in the group that he and the other members had worked so hard for.

How could you not hate such an easy life of someone?

But now he was doing it again. Using his looks to win everyone to his side.

"Why? Why do you always ruin things for me?" Theon cried out in anger.

His manager rushed to his side and reassured him: "There is no need to fret, Theon. The execs of the Management are going to make a move. This is just short-term fame for Aren."

...

In a short while, articles criticizing To Your Heart were released by various media outlets and marketing accounts.

Many comments criticizing the show began to dominate the comment sections.

[Why are you promoting bullying? To Your Heart is such a bad influence on society.]

[To Your Heart should be cancelled for glorifying violence and bullying.]

[To Your Heart is such a garbage drama. Just cheap tricks to excite the audience.]

[The Insiders has such a classy and complex storyline. What does To Your Heart have? Ah right, there are students fighting one another, hahaha.]

Most of the comments were trying to set the notion that the drama enthusiasts should watch The Insiders, whereas To Your Heart was low-level, with a simple plot.

But as they say, the more you stop someone from doing something, the stronger the urge to do it.

Moreover, the audience weren’t naive children who couldn’t think for themselves. They just decided to watch both the shows and judge for themselves.

And the popularity score of the third episode the next day reflected that.

-----------------------------------

(A/N - Thanks for reading. ^..^)