6 pm — The day after Yumi’s recording session.

A ten-minute video was uploaded to Yoon-jung’s YouTube channel. The thumbnail was a dramatic shot of Sung-ah and Yoon-jung standing side by side in their training clothes.

The title was eye-catching.

[Launching Sung-ah Sunbae’s Idol-Making Project!]

People found themselves clicking on the video before they knew it.

The video’s contents had spread like wildfire across entertainment news sites, online forums, and social media. Within an hour, the online community was set ablaze.

[Sung-ah Kim’s Next Project Announced! A Team-Up With Director Min-woo Sung. Will It Be A Hit?]

[Blue Sherbet’s Yoon-jung Hwang and Sung-ah Kim Show Unexpected Chemistry. Their Connection? The CEO of K-Management!]

[Director Min-woo Sung Faces Skepticism Over How He Will Handle Sung-ah Kim’s Lack of Dance Skills.]

[“Only Yoon-jung Can Save Her!” Pleaded Sung-ah Kim’s Fan Café: “At Least Teach Her Half of What You Know~”]

Sung-ah’s latest film, ‘Photographer,’ had flopped so badly at the box office that, despite all the buzz, few people were actually looking forward to her next project.

Instead, the public was purely taken by the fact that Sung-ah Kim was taking on an idol role and posting dance videos online.

The video showed Yoon-jung and Sung-ah meeting, exchanging awkward greetings (mostly on Sung-ah’s side), and making some small talk. Sung-ah also explained why she was learning to dance and promised she would be uploading more dance tutorials.

Then came the dance lesson, and thus, the true highlight of the video.

–  I’m dead, she’s so adorable! Didn’t even know Sung-ah had this side to her lolol

–  Yoon-jung looks so shook like she just saw a magic trick lol. You can hear her voice getting louder hahaha!

–  Only 10 minutes? Come on, we need the full uncensored version fr

–  When’s the next video! Idk about the movie but I’ll have these dance clips on loop XD

–  Can we swap Yumi for Sung-ah in Blue Sherbet? Neither of them can dance for shit lol

–  Sung-ah as an idol… I can die happy rn, no complaints..

As expected, the promotional effect was great. Whether the hype would last until the film’s release was up in the air, but we at least succeeded in getting people talking about the movie.

On the other hand, the actual problem came from a completely unexpected place. It was Sung-ah Kim’s utterly disastrous dance skills. It was almost too painful to watch.

The production company had reviewed the footage before uploading it and knew exactly what they were in for, but there was just nothing they could do.

They had already received the investment funds they needed, and losing an actress of Sung-ah Kim’s caliber was out of the question.

So, Sung-ah addressed the concerns with a post on social media.

[I never thought I was bad at dancing, but I learned that through this experience. I’ll train like my life depends on it, so please cheer me on! Yoon-jung is an amazing teacher, so I think I’ll survive!]

Yoon-jung felt an enormous amount of pressure.

“President Kang… What do I do? I’m really not confident about this.”

“Yoon-jung, do you know what the good news is?”

“What?”

“No matter how bad Sung-ah is at dancing, no one is going to blame you.”

After all, anyone could see how hard Yoon-jung was trying to teach her in the YouTube videos. 

As for whether the film itself would be a success, I couldn’t say for certain anymore. Even I didn’t see this coming.

Normally, the actor’s dancing ability would have been a critical factor in the casting process. The problem was that it was skipped over because of Sung-ah’s acting talent and level of fame.

The production company representative, the director, and I had all made the same mistake.

Yoon-jung slowly nodded, and I could see a bit of the tension leave her eyes.

However.

“Um… what should I do about the stream? That topic’s really hot right now.”

***

“P-President Kang. Maybe I should skip the stream today?”

Yoon-jung sat at her computer, her voice laced with anxiety.

“It’ll be okay. If a tough question comes up, just ask me. That’s why I’m here.”

I was seated off-camera in a spot where the audience wouldn’t see me. Since this involved Sung-ah, Yoon-jung would have to choose her words carefully. I was there so she could call for backup anytime.

“The online forums are crazy right now… Everyone’s going to flood in. This stream is going to be a disaster.”

I knew that, too. All that fiery interest was bound to spill over into Yoon-jung’s stream.

Honestly, though, this was also a golden opportunity. It wasn’t noise marketing. People were just genuinely excited over something positive.

“We have to strike while the iron is hot. You haven’t been growing a lot lately. There hasn’t been anything that’s big enough of a topic.”

Her YouTube channel was still steadily growing thanks to a steady influx of international viewers, but her live streams had hit a wall. 

If we could funnel some of the hype from this latest video into her stream, it would be a huge win for us. If anything problematic came up, I would be right there to handle it.

“President Kang.”

“What now?”

Yoon-jung closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and spun her chair around to face me. She locked eyes with me, then nodded as if she had made up her mind about something.

She stood up and stepped closer. Since I was still seated, I tilted my head to look at her. Suddenly, Yoon-jung bent forward and tightly grabbed both of my hands that were resting on the armrests.

Her hair brushed against my jaw as she spoke in a tear-ful voice.

“I’m so nervous. I don’t think I can do this. Can’t you just stream with me? I think I would feel better that way.”

“…”

“I’m literally shaking so hard right now. I’m sorry. I know this is the time to strike, but it feels like I’m on a tiny boat in the middle of a sea storm. It might look calm to you, but it really feels like that to me. It’s terrifying, okay?”

I shook my head.

“Alright, alright. Let’s do it your way.”

My face had already been shown on national TV, and I was set to appear again in ‘Tomorrow’s Idol’ later down the road. If it meant that our artists could grow, I would gladly sacrifice myself.

No. Their growth was my growth. I had nearly forgotten that for a moment.

I just never imagined that I would be doing a live stream. 

“Really?! You’re really going to stream with me, right? The whole thing?” She beamed and shook my hands excitedly.

My chair wobbled, and her hair kept whipping against my neck, jaw, and face.

“Gah! Hair! Hey! Pff! In my mouth.”

She ignored my protests, relief lighting up her expression more than before.

When it was finally time to stream, we sat side by side at the computer.

“The stream title…”

Yoon-jung finished setting up the stream and typed the title.

[Joint stream with a handsome guy!]

“What?!”

Before I could stop her, she had already gone live. She turned to me with a bright smile.

“You should be grateful. I don’t go calling just anyone handsome, you know.”

“Oh, come on…”

“What. Why act all annoyed when you secretly like it? When was the last time someone called you handsome? It’s been forever, right? Right?”

“I hear it sometimes when I go to the broadcasting stations.”

“Pfft. Yeah, right.”

“…Back in the day.”

Yoon-jung grinned mischievously and poked my shoulder.

“President Kang.”

“What.”

“We’re live.”

Oh, right! I was thrown off by the stream title and got distracted by Yoon-jung’s teasing that I completely forgot.

When I glanced at the chat, it was absolute chaos. Not even one minute had passed since the stream started, and the chat was already on fire.

So this was what a hardcore fandom was like.

–  I’M SO JEALOUS!!!!!!

–  I’m starting my own talent agency. Just you wait

–  Did you save a country in your past life or what?

–  I SAID I’M JEALOUS!!!

–  He’s actually in Yoon-jung’s room.. Wow…

–  GET OUT. RIGHT. NOW.

Even though Sung-ah was the one getting all the attention lately, the chat had zeroed in on me instead. The problem was that they had also made me the enemy. 

At the very least, Yoon-jung wasn’t nervous at all anymore. My sacrifice had actually given her the stability she needed.

“Ahem. Just start.”

“Hahahaha! President Kang, you’re totally nervous, aren’t you? Hm?”

“J-just focus on the stream.”

“Wow! Everyone! Our dear president is nervous! He’s totally nervous. Right?”

Yoon-jung closely scrutinized my face with wide eyes, and of course, the chat went ballistic.

“Please… Yoon-jung. Look at the chat.”

“Huh?”

Her eyes flickered toward the monitor. After seeing the chat, she smiled gently.

“Why are you all so angry? He’s our president.”

Once she engaged with the audience, the stream flowed naturally. It was thanks to her daily practices.

Yoon-jung swiftly redirected their focus after the barrages of furious messages that were aimed at me.

Then, the donations began pouring in.

All of the questions were about Sung-ah. Some of them were probably reporters, too. I snapped out of my stupor and focused.

“Is Sung-ah pretty in real life? Yes! She’s next-level pretty. Like, unbelievably gorgeous.”

“Huh? In the video, it looked like we were on… equal footing? Hm. That’s not what I think, chat. You shouldn’t doubt…”

Yoon-jung trailed off mid-sentence and turned to me with a cheeky smile.

“In my eyes, our president is handsome, too. Beauty’s in the eye of the beholder, right?”

“…!”

She had just barely shifted the topic away, and she brought it right back.

‘I’m going to live a long life at this rate…’

I didn’t know what happened, but there wasn’t any trace of her nervousness from before. The way her attitude changed so sharply made it feel like her shaking from before felt like nothing but a mirage.

After that, Yoon-jung occasionally mentioned me as she answered questions. Over a hundred thousand viewers flocked in thanks to the commotion. As she continued, her answers were being turned into articles in real-time as reporters posted on entertainment news sites.

“It’s really happening? Wow. So it becomes news that fast, huh. Hm? Want an exclusive scoop?”

My eyes widened at her unexpected words, and the chat urged her to spill it. Journalists were probably holding their breath with their fingers hovering over their keyboards.

“Y-Yoon-jung. Don’t say anything reckless. Whisper it to me first.”

“Actually…”

“Yoon-jung! PLEASE.”

“I can’t eat mint chocolate!”

I exhaled so hard, I thought my soul had left my body. It felt like I just aged ten years. Yoon-jung laughed at my expression with a hand over her belly.

“I’m sorry, everyone. And I’m sorry, President Kang! Haha! You were really surprised, weren’t you?”

Even as my nerves settled, my brain immediately switched to business mode.

A massive audience.

Yoon-jung with her charisma in full force after untangling her bundle of nerves.

‘The viewer reactions are really good, too.’

The fact that the viewer numbers weren’t dropping off but kept increasing was evidence enough. I hadn’t even done much, but this joint stream was already showing an incredibly positive effect.

For first-time viewers, this stream would be the thing to burn Yoon-jung’s name into their minds.

‘Now that it’s come to this, there’s no choice but to roll with it.’

The tide had turned in her favor, and before I knew it, Yoon-jung was in full swing.

I started picking and reading out chat questions that she could answer, and I also threw out some questions I had come up with myself.

There were also a few tricky questions mixed in that could potentially spark a controversy, though.

‘It won’t work.’

Not on my watch.

Who was this?

—

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