Chapter 245: Drag Down (4)
Kang Ra-Eun had put her heart and soul into Spokesperson, and the release date was finally around the corner. She and her fellow co-stars posted on their respective social media accounts to promote the film before it was released.
Ra-Eun posted a photo of herself and Hwang Je-Woong that she had taken on set behind the scenes, along with a message written ‘We hope you enjoy?Spokesperson!’ this morning. Shin Yu-Bin softly laughed as she watched Ra-Eun busily work on her social media posts.
“This is the first time I’ve seen you work so fervently to promote a film.”
“Really?”
“You’d never been like this before. You’ve only ever done the bare minimum.”
Yu-Bin had been exactly right; since it would be weird if the main star of the film did not post anything on social media regarding it, Ra-Eun had always done the bare minimum like Yu-Bin had mentioned. However, this film was different.
“I would think you had produced this film instead of Director Seo if I didn't know any better,” Yu-Bin remarked.
It was natural for her to feel this way since Ra-Eun was more desperate for this film’s success than the director. Ra-Eun laughed awkwardly and focused back on her smartphone.
“I think this film has just grown on me,” she remarked.
It was impossible for it to have not grown on her, since it would act as the highlight of her revenge. Hence, Ra-Eun was planning on doing whatever she could to promote this film. The same went for TV appearances on top of social media posts; she was planning on going on various programs before the film release date to focus on promoting Spokesperson, which was also the reason why she was already on the move so early in the morning with Yu-Bin.
Yu-Bin parked the car in the broadcasting station parking lot and quickly messaged someone.
“Han-Seok and Se-Min have already arrived. They’re in the waiting room, so you can go greet them,” she said.
“They’re both rather early.”
The two of them had been postponing their variety show appearances due to their busy film shoot schedule. Although they were both mainly actors, they also liked going on variety shows, especially Min Se-Min. He had once been considered a high commodity among variety program directors. In addition to that, the set was on full alert since Ra-Eun would also be appearing with him.
Ra-Eun quickly greeted the program director and head staff members, and then headed to the waiting room where the guests were gathered.
“Good morning, sunbae.”
“Oh, Ra-Eun. You’re here.”
Ji Han-Seok greeted Ra-Eun first. She couldn’t see Se-Min; he had likely gone to the bathroom.
“Yes. I’m sorry I’m late.”
“No, you’re right on the scheduled time. You weren’t late at all, so there’s no need to apologize. That aside, I’ve been so nervous ever since I’d woken up since I haven’t appeared in a variety show in a while. How about you?”
Ra-Eun looked relatively calmer than Han-Seok.
“Well, I’d appeared in a few programs while we’d been filming, so I’m not that nervous.”
“Right, I guess you had.”
Han-Seok always thought whenever he saw Ra-Eun that she was a very diligent junior. Se-Min returned to the waiting room as they were chatting.
“Huh? Hey, Ra-Eun!”
“Hi.”
Ra-Eun and Se-Min had ended up speaking casually to one another after they had gotten closer through the film shoots. Se-Min had seniority over her in terms of experience, but since they were the same age, they felt more like friends than work colleagues.
Han-Seok asked as if to feel them out, “You guys have gotten so close.”
“Yes. We had so many scenes together, so we’d met often on set,” Se-Min mentioned in embarrassment.
They had met so often that they had naturally gotten closer. Han-Seok was very envious of Se-Min.
“Ra-Eun,” Han-Seok said.
“Yes, sunbae?”
“You can also...”
He was about to mention that she could also speak casually to him, but a staff member’s sudden appearance interrupted him.
“The recording preparations have finished much earlier than expected, so please get ready.”
“Understood.”
That was enough chit-chat; it was now time to work.
***
Ra-Eun, Han-Seok and Se-Min could be considered the three main characters of Spokesperson. The host and regular panelists of the variety show that they had appeared in, Speaking with the Stars, were staring at them in satisfaction.
“Our guests today sure are a sight for sore eyes.”
“I’ll say. It feels like we’re the guests today. It’s kind of hard to believe that people we’ve seen all the time on screen are right before our very eyes in person.”
The guests were usually the focus of every show, but even despite that, the three actors’ presence really stood out. The production team could already hear the view ratings rising just from their visuals alone.
“What made you all decide to come on our show?” the host, who was also a comedian, asked.
Se-Min answered jokingly, “Well, because there have been tons of rumors that your view ratings have been insane.”
.
The host and regular panelists laughed at his forthright answer. Se-Min then raised his mic again after the laughter died down.
“Jokes aside, it was my idea. I wanted to come on the show because I had made a promise. Do you all remember?”
“Of course we do! You promised us back when you had come on the show last year that you would love to come back on if the opportunity arises.”
“Yes, exactly.”
No one would have said anything even if Se-Min didn’t keep this promise; it was not like he had signed an official contract to do so, and he could just make excuses that he was busy. But despite that, he had come back after a year to keep his promise. It was likely because of this part of him that variety program directors wanted him on their shows so much.
The subject of discussion turned to Ra-Eun this time.
“This is your first time coming on our show, right, Ra-Eun?” the host asked.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’ve heard that you’re a very difficult person to recruit. We’d like to thank you once again for coming on our show. The writers were so excited when they heard the news that the meeting room had been in complete chaos with them screaming in joy.”
The camera filmed the area where the writers were gathered, to which the female writers hid their faces with their hands in embarrassment. Ra-Eun had an overwhelming number of male fans at first, but she had made a lot of female fans over the years. To prove it, her fan club, Club Allegiance, now had a roughly equal ratio of male and female members.
“What do you think is the secret to your fame?” the host asked.
Ra-Eun always found it difficult to answer questions like this, since she was not used to showing off or praising herself.
“I wonder... Maybe it’s because I’ve played a lot of strong-willed characters?”
One of the regular panelists then asked her a question that had not been in the script.
“Is there a specific part of your body that you’re most confident in?”
She had been asked a question like this before, to which she answered back then...
“I’d say my legs.”
The camera then focused on Ra-Eun’s legs. Her white spandex skinny jeans brought the lines of her legs to life. She was relatively tall and had a small head, so she did not fall behind even when compared to fashion models, which was one of the reasons why her fanbase was still growing even now.
“I’ve heard that your strong point was your ability to perform action scenes. Can we expect such scenes from you in the upcoming film?”
“I’d love to say yes, but unfortunately, not this time.”
There was relatively very little physical action involved since the battles in the film were political in nature.
The host continued, “You must have been disappointed while shooting the film, then.”
“Yes, but I’m personally satisfied since the end result came out so well.”
That was how much Ra-Eun had devoted herself to this film.
Another panelist asked, “Se-Min and Han-Seok have both pledged to do something if the film surpasses ten million in audience attendance, but I don’t believe you have yet. Is there anything that you have in mind?”
There were many actors these days that pledged something if their production surpassed a certain number of views, so it could be called a trend of sorts. However, Ra-Eun had yet to make a pledge.
Se-Min encouraged Ra-Eun from next to her, “Why don’t you make a really impactful one? Something big enough to guarantee ten million views.”
“Something big, huh...?”
Ra-Eun needed this film to reach ten million in audience attendance. If it didn’t, then her revenge plan could go down the drain. From what she remembered of the future, Spokesperson?had only just barely managed to make enough money to break even. That was why she had demanded a massive overhaul of the story from the beginning.
But even so, her anxiety had not fully vanished. It was not like all films became a hit just because famous actors starred in them. Hence, Ra-Eun decided to make a pledge so big that it would shock the public.
“If this film surpasses ten million in audience attendance, I will shoot a ‘kiss scene’ which I have never done before.”
Every cast member became wide-eyed.
“R-Really?”
“Are you sure, Ra-Eun?”
The host and panelists asked repeatedly. Ra-Eun nodded to emphasize that she was telling the truth.
“Yes. I won’t go back on my word.”
There was no bigger pledge than this, since Ra-Eun had always said that she would rather die than shoot a kiss scene. That was how desperate she was for this film’s success. She was burning her bridges.
On the other hand, Han-Seok expressed mixed feelings once Ra-Eun pledged a kiss scene. Even Se-Min, who had been the one to encourage her to make a big pledge, was bewildered. However, the bewilderment was only for a moment. They both calmed down and thought one thing: that they didn’t want to lose that kiss scene to anyone else.
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