SDM 16
by Soraii4. The Start of the Semester
The bruise lasted longer than expected. Thus, Seong-woon had to listen to his family’s worries every day. When the bruise finally faded to a yellow tinge, the press conference for “Human Justice” was held.
At the press conference held two days before the Webflix release, they didn’t show the actual show, but released a 3-minute final trailer—though it was more like a summary—that had been edited.
While the previous trailer mostly showed conflicts between people and close-up shots of actors due to unfinished CGI, this final trailer boasted impressive visuals and CGI that truly lived up to its name.
And of course, Ryu Chae-yoon’s face appeared at the very beginning of the trailer.
“Who’s that person at the beginning of ‘Human Justice’?
Teacher, please tell me who it is…
11 comments.
Your speech level is impolite
➥OP: That’s not what’s important, teacher
➥➥That’s not important, but they’re super talented, who is it?
Ryu Chae-yoon
➥OP: Who’s that?
➥➥The person you just asked about
➥➥➥➥Well, so what does Ryu Chae-yoon do?
➥➥➥➥➥Here’s his SNS www.☆gram.com/cherryR
LOL amazing! The director was bragging about the CGI, did they think this face was CGI too? 🤣
➥➥For real, not human
➥➥CGI has been on point lately, but this was actually human?
The actor who appears at the beginning of ‘Human Justice’
I heard it’s Ryu Chae-yoon, is it the same person I know?
10 comments.
Who’s the person you know?
➥Ryu Chae-yoon = Cherry = Chaebol
➥➥Huh? Cherry? This Cherry? www.☆gram.com/cherryR
➥➥➥Yes
➥➥➥➥This is crazy, he’s really acting now. I was worried the idol industry would take him, but the acting industry is hitting jackpot
Is he from a wealthy family?
➥Yes, fifth child of the Ryu Byung-chan family
➥➥How do you know the chairman’s name
➥➥➥Want to become their daughter-in-law
➥➥➥➥You’re crazy LOL
The director successfully grabbed the media’s attention with the trailer. Since most of the other characters had already appeared in previous teasers, he reduced their screen time slightly and instead included almost all of Ryu Chae-yoon’s scenes.
Even so, there weren’t many complaints because the trailer itself was quite long, giving other actors decent screen time, and it also properly showcased how the drama would play out in the zombie genre. Drama fans, always thirsty for new faces, fell right into his trap.
However, Seong-woon naturally didn’t see these reactions, and even the manager who brought good news couldn’t break it to him. This was because Seong-woon was lost in thought, staring blankly at water droplets on the table.
Afraid to see what wish Ryu Chae-yoon might have made, Seong-woon postponed it until the deadline, only then receiving the reward along with a congratulatory message. The reward for Quest 2 was ‘Partial Reveal of Ryu Chae-yoon’s Wish’.
Congratulations!
You have successfully completed the quest.
Reward: Partial Reveal of Ryu Chae-yoon’s Wish – See below
ㅁㅁㅁㅁ ㅁㅁㅁㅁ ㅁㅁ ㅁㅁ ㅁㅁ
→ ㅁㅁㅁㅁ ㅁㅁㅁㅁ want to be entangled
The moment he saw the wish, Seong-woon pressed his lips tightly. While postponing viewing Ryu Chae-yoon’s wish, he had pondered quite a lot about what it might be.
Ryu Chae-yoon didn’t need money, and his family showered him with unconditional love. Chae-yoon’s biggest problem seemed to be his health, so Seong-woon thought he might have wished for that, but it seemed too late to wish for it at the moment of death. He had been torn wondering what it could be.
But to think… “want to be entangled”? With what exactly?
“Young Master?”
“…Yes?”
As he suddenly looked up, Hyeong-seok slightly furrowed his brows.
“What’s wrong?”
“No. It’s just that suddenly you looked so…”
He was acting as if he had just stared directly at the sun.
“What about me?”
“You’re glowing.”
“…Really?”
“Yes. It surprised me.”
Ryu Chae-yoon’s appearance was already exceptional, but thanks to Seong-woon’s persistent efforts to improve his physical condition, his heart muscles had gradually recovered, making him look noticeably more vibrant. Because of this, even people who had just gotten used to Ryu Chae-yoon’s looks were occasionally startled.
“I got some good news.”
“What is it?”
“The audition results and the reaction to yesterday’s ‘Human Justice’ trailer.”
“…The audition results are out only now?”
It had been almost two weeks since the audition. He thought he’d probably passed since Baek Sang-hyun, who would have definitely landed a big role whether as the protagonist or antagonist, had intervened. But when there was no contact, he wondered if he’d been rejected.
“Yes, well… Since filming starts in winter, it seems they weren’t in a rush.”
“Winter…”
“The drama is set in winter, and one of the lead actors needs to attend school too.”
Among the lead actors, the only one likely to be in school is… Baek Sang-hyun. Baek Sang-hyun is 27 and probably hasn’t enlisted in the military yet, but he hasn’t graduated from school either?
…Well, he debuted at 22 and worked like a horse, so it was nearly impossible for him to attend school like others. He not only filmed movies but also appeared in quite a few dramas.
“Then, I guess it’s okay for me to go to school too.”
“…Young master, you’re going to school?”
“Yes. Is that not okay?”
Seong-woon hesitated because the third quest was like this:
Quest 3
Attend university for more than 3 days and participate in the opening party.
Reward: Increased physical strength and partial recovery from illness
Deadline: Within a week after the start of the semester. If failed, return to the branching point.
Soul Adjustment Project in progress…
* * *
After barely convincing his family that he would go to school, Seong-woon applied for readmission. Whether it was because he studied well or laid grass in front of the administration building, Ryu Chae-yoon was successfully enrolled in the Business Administration department of the country’s top university.
The course registration period had already passed, but Seong-woon, whose purpose for going to school was only to keep an eye on Chae-yoon, only added a few essential classes and filled the rest of his schedule by skimming through lecture names. It wouldn’t matter much if he took a leave of absence after achieving the quest.
But Hyeong-seok was quite enthusiastic. As soon as Seong-woon said he would attend school, Hyeong-seok gathered information about the curriculum and which lectures were easy or difficult to score in and started lecturing Seong-woon. Of course, Seong-woon didn’t listen at all and just clicked through randomly.
“Ah, Young Master– Would you like to upload that photo?”
“What photo… Oh, the zombie photo?”
It was a photo Hyeong-seok had taken with his phone, saying it would be a waste of the special makeup. It turned out quite pretty because it was such a sunny day. He hadn’t mentioned participating in ‘Human Justice’ before and hadn’t uploaded it to prevent spoilers, but now it seemed okay to post it.
“They’ve released quite a lot of promotional materials since the trailer came out too.”
“Haha.”
Promotional materials for a small part that only appears for 3 minutes? Seong-woon laughed in disbelief, but Hyeong-seok seemed serious.
“Oh, did aunt ask you to release it?”
“The response has been quite good.”
“What could there be to respond to?”
“I guess I didn’t show you.”
Hyeong-seok turned on his tablet and showed Seong-woon a few screenshots. They were casual posts from communities where drama fans gathered. They were curious about Seong-woon after seeing him in the trailer of ‘Human Justice’.
“…There’s more interest than I thought?”
“Of course. You’ve seen the trailer, right?”
“Yes. The director…”
He drew attention well. His versatility from acting in a fluffy fabric softener commercial to being cast in a zombie drama was quite impressive.
“Quite a few articles about you have been posted, so reporters contacted us first. Since you’re so famous on social media, most reporters know who you are, but they said they needed accurate information.”
“So you didn’t release the promotional materials first, but they went on anyway because there were requests?”
“Yes, that’s right. We added a few things here and there along with it.”
Hyeong-seok showed him a few articles as well. From the titles and content, there were quite a few sentences that felt like they were written by reporters rather than company promotional materials.
Though the title “Who is the face lighting up the ‘Human Justice’ trailer?” was a little cringeworthy.
“Your eyes have really brightened.”
“…Stop it, hyung.”
Avoiding Hyeong-seok’s sincere gaze, Seong-woon selected the photo with zombie makeup and uploaded it to SNS. With the golden contact lenses, it looked like stage makeup for a very conceptual idol performance.
[Photo]
cherryR I appeared in ‘Human Justice’, which will be released tonight.
The response to the brief comment and photo exploded. Surprised by the rapidly increasing number of likes and comments, Seong-woon closed the SNS app, turning off his attention to it.
Come to think of it, the release timing of ‘Human Justice’ was quite clever. It was right before the end of college students’ vacation when they would want to spend their remaining days like slogs under the air conditioner. Therefore, the number of people watching it in theatres would be quite good.
“I hope it does well.”
Even though he merely played a role that appeared in one scene, Seong-woon always hoped that the works he appeared in would do well. He wanted the other actors to shine, receive awards, gain fans, and be loved… Even if he couldn’t become such a sensation himself.
In any case, Seong-woon hoped everyone would do well so that more dramas and movies would be made, potentially increasing his chances of appearing in them, even if only slightly.
“…Young Master, we probably don’t need to circulate promotional materials for you.”
“Why not?”
Until now, everyone had refrained from actively spreading Ryu Chae-yoon’s Instagram due to his civilian status. But the moment it was announced that he had debuted as an actor, reporters and the public flocked to his SNS as if they had been waiting for this. The kind of promotion that couldn’t be achieved no matter how much money and materials were thrown around was happening right now.
“It seems everyone is just looking at your SNS, Young Master.”
“Haha, surely not.”
“It’s true.”
“I’d like to keep a low profile, so you don’t need to promote it too much.”
He was worried because Ryu Chae-yoon’s soul might return to this body, and Seong-woon might disappear.
“I’ll work hard.”
After sending away Hyeong-seok, who was clenching his fist with determination, Seong-woon had to sit in front of the TV with his siblings and parents who had all gathered at the main house by 5 PM.
“We have to watch our youngest on TV.”
“Do you want orange juice or apple juice?”
“No! Chae-yoon’s appetite will decrease. Don’t give him any.”
Seong-woon quickly withdrew his hand that was reaching for the apple juice. Unlike the previous Ryu Chae-yoon, since Seong-woon had started eating most foods diligently without being picky, everyone was obsessed with feeding him.
The family, who had gathered to watch together and have dinner afterwards since his part wasn’t that long anyway, fell silent as the Webflix logo appeared.
Watching a work he appeared in with others like this… It had been a long while. Maybe only when they occasionally held the finale party to coincide with the actual finale?
Of course, even then, people’s attention was mostly on the lead actors rather than watching his acting, and everyone was usually quite drunk, so watching together didn’t really mean much.
There wasn’t even a TV in this house’s living room, but they hurriedly installed one to watch this together. They said it was 120 inches; Seong-woon had never seen such a large TV in his life.
“Ah, I’m really excited.”
Even though they had already seen it in advance with their aunt last time, they were still excited.. Seong-woon chuckled lightly and ate a few snacks that Ho-yoon handed him. They didn’t give him much, saying it would ruin his appetite.
As scenes he had already seen more than three times passed by in a flash, his family members turned to look at him almost simultaneously. The pressure of their similar faces made him barely manage a smile. His mother sitting beside him suddenly hugged him.
“Oh, our baby must have had a hard time. How did you manage that, really…”
“You did better than I expected.”
“It’s amazing no matter how many times I see it, really.”
“I heard you also passed another audition?”
Carefully supporting his mother’s thin shoulders as she hugged him, Seong-woon just laughed, “Haha,” at the flood of compliments. It’s really unbearable for both the person receiving praise and the one giving it.
“Instead of leaving it all to Young-joo, I should start a company…”
“Father. No.”
They were already getting criticized for their aunt’s entertainment giant, and now he’s thinking of creating another agency under the Ryu name? Absolutely not. As Seong-woon shook his head firmly, the middle-aged man sat back down with a dejected look.
“Then how about I make one?”
“Do you think that would work?” Seong-woon unconsciously clicked his tongue at Chang-yoon’s interjection.