NoveLight ™
The initial reaction to the web promotion of Dream Future was rather lukewarm. The fact that it was being released through an internet broadcast contributed to this lack of enthusiasm.
However...
"Wait, JustX's Ma Yeon-woo is going to be on it?" "Really? No way, are you serious?"
The power of idol fandoms cannot be underestimated, especially when it comes to JustX, one of the most popular idol groups of the moment.
The news that Ma Yeon-woo from JustX would be appearing quickly caught people's attention. As a result, information about how the web promotion would be conducted started spreading among the public.
"They said it's actors versus idols, right?" "Seems like they’re putting one actor on the idol team and one idol on the actor team." "So, the competition is based on acting and singing?" "Yeah, and there's dancing too."
These kinds of conversations were even happening at Yeonhwa High School, where Seoyeon was attending.
"Should we go talk to her?" "You do it."
The girls exchanged glances. Ju Seoyeon, the quiet girl who always sat quietly in class.
Even before she started her acting career, she was a girl that wasn’t easy to approach, and now it was even harder. There were only a few who had gotten closer to her after the school festival.
At that moment...
"Seoyeon, um, Seoyeon-ah."
One brave girl spoke up.
"……."
Seoyeon slowly raised her gaze. The girls were from her class, but they had never really spoken to her before. They froze as Seoyeon looked at them.
'Damn, she’s really pretty.'
An actress is an actress. Just sitting there with a straight posture, she exuded an aura that made it hard to approach her. Plus, she typically wore a neutral expression.
Of course, Seoyeon was also frozen at that moment.
'Why?'
Why are they suddenly talking to me? Seoyeon, who had filmed variety shows and movies, found herself in a situation she had never encountered before.
"Uh, um, are you really going to be on the show with Yeon-woo oppa from JustX?"
But the brave one gets the answer. Seoyeon slowly nodded at the girl’s question.
"Yes." "Then, could you maybe get us his autograph? Just one, please!"
Seoyeon didn't think much of it.
"Okay." "Really?"
The girl's face brightened at Seoyeon's simple reply. And then...
'Huh?'
Suddenly, girls began lining up in front of Seoyeon. All of them wanted to get an autograph from JustX.
'Is he that popular?'
For a moment, Seoyeon wondered. JustX—an idol group that would explode in popularity in just a year. She only remembered them as such, but it seemed their current recognition was already incredible.
‘Even Jung-woo sunbae wasn’t like this.’
Actors may have fans, but they rarely have such intense fanbases, at least in Korea.
Thus, Seoyeon found herself receiving requests to sign all sorts of items—ordinary notebooks, clothes, and more.
"…What is going on?"
When she arrived at the filming site, Ma Yeon-woo politely greeted her. Seoyeon tilted her head, puzzled by his demeanor.
"Um, I have a favor to ask. Is that okay?" "A favor?" "Yes."
Seoyeon spoke as she set down a pile of items with a thud. Ma Yeon-woo momentarily lost his words. Did she really bring this all the way to the filming site?
He swallowed nervously. He wasn't mistaken in losing that arm wrestling match.
"I got a few requests. But you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to." "I see."
Was he really allowed to refuse? Ma Yeon-woo looked at the pile. There wasn’t actually that much.
‘Oh, it’s not as much as I thought.’
It just looked heavy because of the mix of various items. Of course, it wasn’t something a high school girl should have lugged all the way to a filming set. But ordinarily, Ma Yeon-woo would have declined.
‘Signing too many autographs lowers your value.’
That was Ma Yeon-woo's usual mindset. If his autograph became too common, it would lose its worth.
So, he normally avoided giving autographs.
"Is it really not okay?"
Seoyeon asked in a flat tone. Ma Yeon-woo couldn’t bring himself to refuse. His right arm ached as he listened to her voice.
‘Am I being a burden?’
Seoyeon reflected. Excited by her friends' first requests, she had ended up bringing things from other classes as well. She had intended to quietly take them back if he refused.
"Of course, I'll do it."
Ma Yeon-woo nodded, somewhat willingly. It wasn’t because of his aching arm. Really, it wasn’t.
‘Well, since we'll be on the same team, I should at least do this much.’
JustX. He took pride in the group. And as an idol, he had a sense of pride, so he didn’t want to lose.
This drama was about idols. Even though acting was part of it, dancing and singing were definitely important aspects as well. Losing in those areas would hurt his pride to the point where he wouldn't be able to sleep for days.
And it wasn’t just Ma Yeon-woo who felt that way. Cha Na-hee did too.
‘Ju Seoyeon.’
Cha Na-hee found Seoyeon difficult to understand. Beyond just saying, ‘Let’s have a match,’ she questioned the composition of the roles themselves.
‘Why did I get the role of Song So-ha?’
During the audition, it was possible for those who auditioned later to observe the earlier auditions. Cha Na-hee had subtly inquired about Seoyeon's audition from an idol who had auditioned after her, and the idol had said this:
"It seemed like everyone wanted Seoyeon to play Song So-ha."
In terms of acting, there was no comparison. The gap between an actor and an idol was that wide.
But did that mean Seoyeon was bad at singing and dancing?
"Her singing was solid, but her dancing was on another level."
The idol, who had some familiarity with Cha Na-hee, spoke honestly. Even as an idol herself, she had described Seoyeon's dancing as ‘on another level.’
If her singing was solid and her dancing was extraordinary, then it wasn’t surprising that Seoyeon had been chosen for Song So-ha.
‘It might be due to her lack of recognition…’
Currently, Seoyeon’s career included just one play, along with some variety shows and commercials. While she wasn’t completely unknown, she was still somewhat unfamiliar to the public.
Most of what the public knew about Seoyeon came from her past reputation. But did that mean Cha Na-hee had overwhelming recognition? Not at all.
‘Did she give up the role?’
So Cha Na-hee could only think that Seoyeon had conceded the role of Song So-ha. Ma Yeon-woo and Cha Na-hee both seemed puzzled as they looked at Seoyeon.
‘Why are they all staring at me?’
Seoyeon was currently on set. Specifically, the set for the 'idol team' of this variety promotion.
The idol team leader was Ma Yeon-woo, with Cha Na-hee and Ju Seoyeon as members. It was a rather small team for what was called a team. After all, there were only six main characters.
‘One actor in the idol team, one idol in the actor team.’
It was obvious that Park Jung-woo would be the leader of the actor team. As for the idol team, Ma Yeon-woo—despite his personality—was a good choice as leader due to his high recognition.
‘Since the roles of Park Min-yul, played by Ma Yeon-woo, and Jo Ha-rin, played by me, are somewhat ambiguous, it makes sense to add Cha Na-hee, who plays the female lead, Song So-ha, to the team.’
Seoyeon glanced at the corner of the set. The current situation was being filmed on camera.
Today’s filming was pre-recorded. The actual competition would be broadcast live.
"Anyway!"
Ma Yeon-woo clapped his hands together. As the leader, it was necessary for him to take charge.
"We’re the idol team, right? So we need to win in singing and dancing."
They needed to win in their specialized areas. This competition only had two outcomes: a win or a loss.
"Seoyeon, how’s your singing?"
At Ma Yeon-woo’s question, Seoyeon stared at him for a moment.
"You can speak comfortably." "What?"
So suddenly? Then why did you use formal speech to me yesterday?
"Just on camera." "……."
Seoyeon whispered quietly so that it wouldn’t be caught on camera.
‘Using honorifics doesn’t suit the character.’
In any case, since it was a variety show, it needed to be as natural and entertaining as possible. Ma Yeon-woo seemed unused to speaking informally to someone younger. It was surprising that this hadn’t caused any scandals yet, but Seoyeon decided to be lenient.
‘What is this…?’
Ma Yeon-woo wanted to argue. With his personality, it wouldn’t have been surprising if he had already snapped and stormed out. But the throbbing pain in his arm held back his temper.
"Uh, right." "Alright. Let’s start with acting first."
Seoyeon spoke enthusiastically. After all, this was a competition.
Seoyeon had no intention of losing, even if it was against her acquaintance, Park Jung-woo!
‘…Am I not the leader?’
Ma Yeon-woo wondered. Why was the actor taking the lead in an idol team?
Seoyeon had taken charge so naturally that it was hard to interrupt.
"Since this is a promotion, we’re supposed to showcase some scenes from the drama."
And those scenes… Seoyeon checked the assigned scenes for the mission.
Each of them had a list of the scenes in their scripts.
"……." "………."
Everyone silently reviewed the scenes. Even Seoyeon, who had been enthusiastically scanning the script, was a bit taken aback.
Was it because of the love scenes?
Not quite. If it had been that, it would have been merely awkward. But this was a different kind of problem altogether.
‘Oh, right. Dream Future was this kind of drama.’
She wondered how such a concept had managed to achieve over 20% viewership ratings.
At first, Dream Future attracted attention because Ma Yeon-woo from JustX was participating. However, the excitement didn’t last long. After all, it was just a small 3-on-3 team competition.
Moreover, as a pre-promotion for a youth drama, it was bound to lose steam quickly.
Even in Ju Seoyeon’s fan community, which had fewer than 300 active members, there was some discussion. But no one had high expectations.
They were simply interested in the character of ‘Ju Seoyeon’ that had become popular through variety shows. There was little anticipation for the drama itself.
And then the first episode of the web variety show aired.
For the actor team, led by Park Jung-woo, the strategy was to win in the acting department, reflecting his personality. While they did sing and dance, it wasn’t at an impressive level.
Then came the idol team.
The idol team received criticism right from the start, mainly because Seoyeon took the lead. The fans who had come to see Ma Yeon-woo weren't interested in a competition; they were there to see him.
However, as the actual practice started, the number of viewers began to increase. The chat on the online broadcast channel became more active.
But the most talked-about figure was Seoyeon.
Seoyeon wasn’t particularly bad at singing. It’s just that her singing was overshadowed by her dancing.
After practice ended...
The content of the first episode, mostly consisting of practice sessions, didn’t receive great reviews. The common criticism was that it was boring. Just when it seemed like the episode would end...
In the final segment, the scene switched to a practice session for the actual scenes. The competition involved filming two scenes and determining who did better in acting and singing.
"I don't think I can do it."
Seoyeon appeared. Or rather, it was Seoyeon portraying Jo Ha-rin.
"No matter how much I practice, my singing isn’t improving. If I go on like this, it’ll never work."
This was a part that revealed the basic character of Jo Ha-rin. A character who excelled in dancing but struggled with singing. It was a role that fit Seoyeon perfectly.
However, the character Jo Ha-rin had a one-sided crush on Kim Si-hwan, who was a complete package as an idol—appearance, singing, and dancing.
Jo Ha-rin desperately tried to follow in his footsteps but couldn’t keep up.
"Ha-rin!"
At that moment, a man approached the despairing girl. It was Park Min-yul. Just as Jo Ha-rin had a crush on Kim Si-hwan, Park Min-yul harbored feelings for Jo Ha-rin.
But he couldn’t express his feelings for fear of burdening her.
"You’re doing great. I’m here for you!"
A cliché line came out, and naturally, the reaction in the chat wasn’t great either.
Just as they were typing these comments...
"Look at me, Ha-rin!"
Park Min-yul suddenly started dancing as he approached her.
"I couldn’t dance either, but look at how much I’ve improved!"
The chat sped up, but the dancing continued. Park Min-yul shouted.
"So you can do it too! You can sing too!"
But the scene didn’t stop despite the chat. Jo Ha-rin, encouraged by Park Min-yul’s words, smiled faintly.
And with Park Min-yul’s dance, Jo Ha-rin opened her mouth.
"You're right."
Suddenly, an upbeat rhythm started playing. Jo Ha-rin began to sing, her beautiful voice soaring through the space. As her melody harmonized with the rhythm, Park Min-yul’s dancing became even more intense.
Naturally, the singing and dancing didn’t stop. The chat exploded, as expected.
Thanks for the chapter