NoveLight ™
Thus began what was called the “Ju Seoyeon Challenge.”
In fact, the start of it was triggered by something rather trivial.
“Alright, this is health YouTuber Park Ho-seung. One of our subscribers sent me a video asking me to give my opinion on it.”
A man with a decent appearance.
He was Park Ho-seung, a YouTuber with a million subscribers focused on fitness.
His good looks and fit body naturally attracted female subscribers, while his well-built physique also drew in male viewers. Among fitness YouTubers, he was quite well-known.
The video he received from a subscriber was none other than the now-famous chair-lifting video by a certain actress from the recent show Golden Duckling.
"Ah, I see. This is a video of actress Ju Seoyeon lifting a chair in the recently aired Golden Duckling."
As soon as Park Ho-seung saw it, his eyes widened in surprise.
How could anyone lift a chair like that?
Even while thinking that, he watched her grip the lower backrest like a barbell and lift it up with ease. Clearly, she had some experience in working out.
Gender didn’t matter here—when someone did something like this, their gender became irrelevant.
Park Ho-seung let out a series of amused "hooh"s as he watched the entire video, but in the end, he waved his hands dismissively.
“No, no, this isn’t right. You’d hurt your back doing it like this. Lifting a person, even if they weigh the same as a barbell, is a completely different challenge.”
“So, you’re saying you can’t do it?”
His manager, who was listening, chimed in with a teasing remark.
“A high school girl did it, though.”
“Well, she’s not exactly an ordinary high school girl, is she?”
“So, you’re saying you can’t do it, huh? All those muscles are just for show?”
Annoyed by the teasing, Park Ho-seung smiled.
“Well, what the heck, I’ll give it a try!”
And that’s how it started.
Of course, lifting an adult man would be too difficult, so they brought in a female member to sit on the chair instead.
They made sure her posture was correct. And the chair? It was the same model that Seoyeon had lifted, from the ADZ brand.
“This chair distributes weight really well. If you look here, the base is easy to grip…”
He added explanations like that.
“Ugh!”
While he couldn’t lift it quite as effortlessly as Seoyeon, Park Ho-seung did manage to lift the chair!
In just three days, the video racked up over 3 million views.
Averaging a million views per day, the video quickly gained viral fame.
And thus, the now-infamous video continued to spread.
“You’ll hurt your back. Fitness isn’t just about lifting heavy weights—it’s about correct posture…”
“...”
It didn’t help that Park Ho-seung was both good-looking and well-built.
He had the kind of physique that made people joke, “If you work out, I’ll kill you.”
It’s common to assume that someone who’s good-looking is less skilled or has succeeded based on their looks alone.
Park Ho-seung had that kind of image.
Because of that, the phrase “Park Ho-seung did it” hit differently for fitness YouTubers who were serious about their craft.
"Why the hell did that guy do it?"
"If he did it, I can’t just sit back and not do it…"
That mindset quickly spread among fitness YouTubers.
And so, the “Ju Seoyeon Challenge” was born.
“Okay, time to get up on the chair, please!”
“Yes~!”
But when they actually tried it, it turned out to be surprisingly good content.
With a female guest sitting on the chair, it emphasized how light she was.
And when the fitness YouTuber succeeded in the challenge, it brought in delicious views.
Thanks to the Ju Seoyeon Challenge, rookie fitness YouTubers were unearthed, and it became a rite of passage for newcomers to attempt the challenge at least once.
“That’s what’s happening, Team Leader.”
“This is ridiculous.”
The marketing department at ADZ was in chaos.
After all, regardless of who was sitting on the chair, they were all lifting ADZ’s chairs.
As a result, the chair Seoyeon had lifted unintentionally became a fitness chair.
No, it was originally just an office chair!
“Our chairs have great weight distribution. And they’re so sturdy that their ratings are going up!”
“That’s certainly good news.”
“Sales have already increased by 20% this month.”
“20 percent?!”
Gwak Hyun-woo almost fainted.
Twenty percent—while sales drops were easy to manage, an increase like that was something even he had only dreamed about.
Sometimes sales rose after switching advertising models, but…
‘We haven’t even run the ad yet, though?’
All they had done was sign a contract with Ju Seoyeon.
But if things were already this good…
“Assistant Manager Kim, make sure to tell the other staff to be extra polite to Ju Seoyeon.”
“Oh, we’re already doing that.”
At that, Gwak Hyun-woo gave Assistant Manager Kim a smile.
It was the kind of smile that said, “Our Assistant Manager Kim is doing a great job.”
“If we shoot the commercial as planned, and Heavenly Garden does well too…”
If everything went well, they might be able to reclaim dominance in the domestic chair market!
Gwak Hyun-woo could sense that this wasn’t just a pipe dream.
Ju Seoyeon—she was becoming the goddess of advertising for ADZ.
Recent reports even showed that Eclair Etoile was practically worshiping her as a goddess, and he could see why.
Meanwhile, the advertising goddess herself...
“Aren’t you supposed to be improving your image?”
“...”
...was currently being teased by Park Jeong-woo at a café.
At a small café, Seoyeon had made plans to meet Jeong-woo today.
Of course, this had nothing to do with her current entertainment or advertising work.
This meeting was more like setting up her schedule in advance.
In a way, it was Seoyeon doing some personal business.
“Next year’s schedule?”
Jeong-woo looked at Seoyeon as he asked.
At this point, he no longer bothered to tell her not to call a male actor carelessly.
Maybe because she thought wearing sunglasses and a mask was enough to not be recognized.
‘Well, as long as she’s not wearing a school uniform, I guess she wouldn’t be recognized easily.’
Seoyeon’s default attire was her school uniform.
As a result, when she wasn’t wearing it, her appearance felt different.
The high school student image was only evident when she was in uniform,
but in regular clothes, she looked more like an actress.
At a glance, she could even be mistaken for an adult woman.
“Why are you asking about my schedule?”
It was the first time Seoyeon had asked about his schedule.
They had appeared together on various shows from childhood dramas like Tales of the Hidden Moon,
to variety shows like Survival in the Wild, and recently in Dream Future.
Oddly enough, they had worked together quite frequently.
However, those shows didn’t exactly involve much of their own decision-making.
Tales of the Hidden Moon was a childhood role,
and Survival in the Wild was something Jeong-woo had just stumbled into.
Dream Future was probably the only one where he had some say in participating.
“So, do you have any plans for next year?”
“Not yet.”
No, he didn’t have any plans yet.
Jeong-woo wasn’t the type to pack his schedule as tightly as Seoyeon did.
“Then…”
Seoyeon hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“What do you think about Director Jo Bang-woo’s movie?”
“Director Jo Bang-woo?”
It was an unexpected name.
Jo Bang-woo was once known as the “Magician of Box Office Hits.”
But after a series of failures, he hadn’t taken on any projects recently.
There were rumors he was planning to shoot a new movie next year, but no one was looking forward to it.
So much so that now, he was more often referred to as “Director Jo Min-tae’s father.”
His son, Jo Min-tae, was a successful director, so as a father, his life might have been a success,
but as a director, he was a has-been.
“To be honest, I don’t know. I’ve heard rumors that he’s planning a movie for next year.”
Jeong-woo spoke while wondering what Seoyeon’s real intention was in asking.
It wasn’t like she would suggest he join it without reason...
“Wait, are you planning to audition for Director Jo Bang-woo’s movie?”
“I’m planning to attend the audition. I don’t know if I’ll be selected.”
“No way…”
Should he try to stop her?
Jeong-woo genuinely thought about that.
He didn’t want to recommend Jo Bang-woo’s movie to her.
Has-been director.
Jeong-woo somewhat agreed with that label.
The sharp sense of style Jo Bang-woo once had had long since rusted, dulled, and faded away.
It wasn’t even retro in a nostalgic way anymore.
‘Is she thinking about her childhood role?’
Jeong-woo never thought Seoyeon would dwell on such things.
But perhaps, for Seoyeon, Jo Bang-woo might hold a special place in her heart.
After all, the only reason Seoyeon was able to audition for Tales of the Hidden Moon was because Jo Bang-woo had helped her.
‘No, it wasn’t just me.’
Meeting Jo Seohui was also thanks to Director Jo Bang-woo.
He suddenly realized that Jo Bang-woo was a surprisingly significant figure in their lives.
If Seoyeon went to the audition, she would surely be chosen.
Jeong-woo had read the script for Heavenly Garden, where Seoyeon was playing the lead role.
Before the nervous writer Min Se-hee submitted it to the broadcasting station, she had shown it to him in advance.
It was bound to be a hit.
And with Seoyeon as the lead, it was guaranteed.
Jeong-woo was so sure of Heavenly Garden’s success that he would bet his entire acting career on it.
That’s how confident he was.
And there was also Mine.
The timing of the audition might overlap with the release of Mine.
It would be early or mid-next year.
By then, how much would Ju Seoyeon’s name be worth?
One thing was certain: only mediocre actors would likely turn up for Jo Bang-woo’s movie auditions.
Who would want to work with a director who had no industry connections and an uncertain future?
Even if the script was excellent, the competition wouldn’t be fierce.
And if Seoyeon showed up?
It would be like a natural disaster for the other candidates.
The higher-ups might even question the need for an audition once they saw her.
“...I’ll think about it.”
Jeong-woo couldn’t outright refuse.
This was a rare request from Seoyeon, and besides that…
His gut was telling him that this movie was sending off strange signals.
“By the way, aren’t you supposed to be improving your image? You don’t seem to be doing that.”
“...”
Seoyeon, who had just felt relief at Jeong-woo’s positive response, now felt like she’d been hit over the head.
Image improvement!
The intellectual and sophisticated image she had shown on Golden Duckling had completely vanished thanks to the Ju Seoyeon Challenge!
“It’s improved, at least… I’m not a gorilla anymore.”
“Really? That’s surprising.”
She had become the headbutting dinosaur instead, but Seoyeon couldn’t bring herself to say that out loud.
The impact of Golden Duckling was significant.
Though she thought she had failed at improving her image, it seemed that at least the people around her found her more approachable.
When she went to class:
“Seoyeon, I watched Golden Duckling last night. Your dad was so funny!”
“Wait, is that really your mom? Wow, when I watched with my mom, she seemed so bitter.”
“Yeah, my mom kept saying she’s gotten old because of me.”
“Your little sister was so cute!”
That was the general sentiment.
Most of the comments were about her dad being funny and her mom being beautiful.
‘...What about me?’
Oddly enough, Seoyeon felt a little left out.
Wasn’t she the main character of the show?
Why were they only talking about her mom and dad?
Seoyeon felt a little hurt.
“But the headbutting dinosaur was cute, right?”
“It did look a bit dumb, though.”
“Hmm.”
Even at home, the topic of conversation had shifted to the show.
For now, the cameras had been put away.
Su-ah couldn’t deny her daughter’s comments.
After all, Seoyeon wasn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed.
But she couldn’t say that out loud, so she just hugged her instead.
Seoyeon had come to realize that her mom’s hugs were reserved for times when there was nothing more to say.
And then, not long after:
“Dad’s home.”
Young-bin opened the door and entered.
The moment he stepped inside, he started poking around with a long stick, checking every corner.
“There’s no camera today.”
“How am I supposed to believe that?”
Young-bin spoke in an aggrieved tone.
He had been tricked during filming, and even at the pool.
Ju Seoyeon’s vlog? Or whatever it was called?
She’d said she was filming something for the fan café, but fan café my foot!
The footage had aired on national TV for everyone to see!
“Nowadays, people look at me and bite their lower lip.”
“...Ahem.”
“I had an interview today. I walked in as the interviewer, and everyone was pinching their thighs and biting their lower lips.”
Young-bin spoke with a regretful expression.
He had been shocked when he first heard that Golden Duckling would be airing the episode featuring Ju Seoyeon.
But when it aired, words couldn’t describe how he felt.
How could he go to work the next day?
That was his biggest concern, and sure enough, when he arrived at the office, his coworkers greeted him with odd expressions.
“Wow, you’re such a fraud.”
“How could your wife and daughters do this to you?”
The people who brought up his family out of envy were easier to deal with.
They actually made Young-bin feel more confident.
But then...
“Was that really…pfft!”
“Uh, Team Leader Ju, I wanted to ask… ahem!”
His colleagues and superiors were all in hysterics.
Even the smallest work-related question turned into a comedy skit.
Recently, Young-bin had become a walking punchline at work.
It was depressing, really.
And to make matters worse, next week his wife’s swimsuit scene would air for the entire nation to see.
He couldn’t even begin to imagine…
‘Well, at least I’m better off than Dad,’ Seoyeon thought.
She had become a headbutting dinosaur, but at least she wasn’t the national laughingstock her dad had become.
And the aftermath wasn’t over yet.
Due to the impact of Golden Duckling, the agency had been flooded with inquiries.
Most of them were from advertisers.
Given the recent surge in ADZ’s popularity, this wasn’t surprising.
“Seoyeon, we’ve got an ad offer for you!!”
Her manager, Park Eun-ha, beamed as she delivered the news.
But something about her gaze felt a little off.
There was a strange sense of hesitation in her expression.
When Seoyeon stared at her quizzically, waiting for her to continue, Eun-ha finally spoke.
“It’s for your mother.”
‘...What about me?’
Seoyeon couldn’t help but feel once again like she was being left out.
And then, two days later…
“The trailer for Heavenly Garden is coming out this week.”
PD Lee Min-hwa casually mentioned it on set.
The broadcast date was now within sight, and things were really starting to move.
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