Chapter 62: Cast Meeting
JSTV ‘W.E.L.C.O.M.E’ reveals dazzling cast: Jin Suho, Yoo Yeon Seo, OneSeven’s Kim Ijun
Yoo Yeon Seo, first time as a regular on a variety show… Netizens’ attention focused
He had only made a brief appearance on ‘Killing Time’, but this was his first time as a regular on a variety show.
As soon as Yoo Yeon Seo signed the contract, the production team proudly released a press release.
└Yoo Yeon Seo and Kim Ijun??
└How can they put them together?
└Aren’t they on bad terms?
└They seemed close with Lee Hangeul during the Baekho Cruise
The news of popular actors and singers joining the show was already exciting, but the news of Yoo Yeon Seo and OneSeven member being on the show was even more surprising.
Everyone was talking about that.
The reaction was explosive, and the production team took advantage of this momentum by uploading a pre-interview video of the cast on YouTube.
(I’m confident in cooking. As long as I have someone to help me, I can serve the guests without any problem.)
(My parents told me to gain some social experience… I think I’ve tried almost everything.)
(I did a lot of part-time jobs during my hiatus, so I don’t think it will be hard.)
A senior actor who asked them to leave it to him, a reliable Jin Suho, and an enthusiastic Kim Ijun
(Someone will do it for us.)
(Why do I have to do that?)
(It will work out somehow.)
And unlike the previous cast members, Yoo Yeon Seo, who boldly admitted that he didn’t know how to do anything, had a caption that said ‘As expected, the young master’.
-Wow, Yoo Yeon Seo is amazing
-Look at how shameless she is?? She can’t do anything, why did they cast her?
└It’s Yoo Yeon Seo
└└Is Yoo Yeon Seo a magic shield?
└At least she can guarantee the ratings
-Yoo Yeon Seo’s attitude makes me feel like this is a group project where he’s just freeloading
└He’ll pay them off with money?? Don’t you know about Yoo Yeon Seo’s real group project?
└└What’s that?
└└└He said she couldn’t do the group project because of her filming schedule, so he gave each of them 1 million won and asked them not to remove her name??
└└└└Wow ??
└└└└Is that the same as broadcasting??
-Just watch the show as a show, you professional complainers
-The show hasn’t even started yet and it’s already a mess?? It looks like it will be a hit
The pre-interview video quickly rose to the top of the trending videos. He got a lot of criticism for her lack of enthusiasm compared to the other cast members, but she was someone who didn’t care about being hated.
“Thanks to you, Yoo Yeon Seo, our show seems to have a good start.”
“Really?”
“We’re getting so many sponsorship offers that we’re having trouble handling them.”
Yoo Yeon Seo had agreed to the production team’s offer to use the pre-interview as a teaser without much difficulty. He didn’t care much about what others said.
“Then should we reject them all?”
“Of course not. We decided to accept the ones that suit the beach theme.”
Yoo Yeon Seo frowned slightly as he fiddled with the pin microphone that the staff had attached to him.
‘The sea… It’s uncomfortable.’
He sometimes felt like she needed a vacation, but ever since she decided to stop synchronizing his memories because of the hallucinations, he felt uneasy about any place that reminded her of Lee Heeseo. But it was too late to regret it, as he opened the door of the cafe.
“Hello.”
The regular cast of ‘Welcome to the Guest House’ consisted of six people, including Yoo Yeon Seo.
They would occasionally invite their friends to join them, but for now, these six people were the ones who would live together for about two months.
“Yoo Yeon Seo. Long time no see.”
“······Yes. Suho.”
“How have you been?”
“Yes.”
Yoo Yeon Seo greeted him awkwardly. J
in Suho was modest and kind, even compared to what he had, which was an objective fact, but he was also the first person who caught him vomiting blood, so he still felt uncomfortable around him.
“Weren’t you two in the same work? Why are you so stiff?”
“Hello, senior.”
And this looked like Yoo Yeon Seo was putting up a wall.
He bowed politely to the person who came next to me. He was Park Seunghwan, the oldest and the senior actor among the six cast members. He was a great actor who had achieved triple 30 million viewers, and always took home trophies from prestigious awards ceremonies at home and abroad.
‘How did they cast him?’
Was this PD’s skill better than I thought? Yoo Yeon Seo shook hands with Park Seunghwan, who offered his hand.
“Wow······ You’re really handsome. I’m Choi Junyoung.”
“Hello.”
This person was Choi Junyoung, a singer and actor who always topped the music charts whenever he released a song, earning him the nickname of music bully. He was also a rising actor who was steadily building his career as an actor.
“I’m Lee Yoonjung.”
Lee Yoonjung was the only female cast member and a child actor who had survived in the entertainment industry for a long time, even longer than Park Seunghwan in terms of career, and had a dazzling filmography.
“Are you here?”
“Yeah.”
Kim Ijun was… whatever.
When all the cast members sat down, the PD said that they could talk freely. He explained that he had arranged this meeting because he thought the cast members needed to get along before leaving the country.
“This is a picture we took when we went on a field trip.”
“Wow······.”
The emerald sea filled the large monitor and it was beautiful. Everyone was mesmerized by the screen.
“This is the guest house where you will stay and welcome guests.”
“Oh······ It looks nice?”
They all seemed relieved to see the neat building that looked newly built. Choi Junyoung said he would bring his guitar when he saw the campfire place, and Kim Ijun, Jin Suho, and Lee Yoonjung cheered.
Only Yoo Yeon Seo didn’t unfold his arms and looked at them blankly. Is this how they react on variety shows… It would take some time to adapt.
“Everyone, you shouldn’t expect any romance.”
“Are you scaring us already, PD?”
“The concept is to run the guest house for real.”
The PD smiled meaningfully. Yoo Yeon Seo narrowed his eyes slightly.
It seemed like there was something else…
“I saw the pre-interview video. You said you’re good at cooking, right, senior?”
“Don’t call me senior… Just call me hyung.”
Park Seunghwan, the oldest one, broke the ice first and they all revealed their ages and sorted out the hierarchy.
Yoo Yeon Seo and Kim Ijun were the youngest.
They were excited and forgot about the PD’s warning. They said they would go swimming in the sea, and even though they hadn’t boarded the plane yet, they were planning what to do together.
“I think I can help with the kitchen.”
“I’m confident in cleaning.”
“Then the remaining person is…”
They all looked at Yoo Yeon Seo as if they had planned it. She unfolded her arms as the gazes poured on her.
“What?”
“Yoo Yeon Seo… Can you do well?”
As Yoo Yeon Seo was about to open his mouth, Kim Ijun cut in.
“Wouldn’t it be better to lower your expectations for him?”
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t you remember when we lived in the dorm together? You couldn’t even do a simple dishwashing and paid with money instead.”
“Oh, that.”
Fortunately, I had seen that through memory synchronization, so I was relieved. Yoo Yeon Seo smiled faintly. It looked like he was mocking me, so Kim Ijun got angry.
“What do you mean by paying with money?”
“He paid the members to do it. He waved the bills and said, ‘Group life? This is capitalism.’”
“Wow, really…”
They swallowed their words of disbelief. Yoo Yeon Seo shrugged casually.
“I know.”
People who are too nice are useless. Kim Ijun snorted at Yoo Yeon Seo’s shameless answer, and the other cast members who had roughly figured out his character shook their heads.
“You all saw it, right? This is what he’s like. PD-nim, why did you bring him along?”
“But didn’t you beg me to pick you too back then? You clung to my leg.”
“When did I! I don’t remember that!”
“You don’t remember? I remember it like it was yesterday… Do you want me to jog your memory?”
The production staff’s eyes sparkled as they watched the two bicker. Yoo Yeon Seo, who looked cold and arrogant, was unexpectedly fun when paired with someone his age.
“Weren’t you two on bad terms?”
“Yeah, I searched it up after I saw the article last time…”
Yoo Yeon Seo’s incident of flying away from OneSeven was one of the big scandals in the entertainment industry in 2011.
First of all, Yoo Yeon Seo’s presence was strong because he was the third generation of Juseong and the son of Lee Heeseo.
When OneSeven made a comeback and became successful, their fans were resentful and posted things like ‘Yoo Yeon Seo is the reason why the group couldn’t make it’ and stirred up public opinion.
And that influence was enough for the celebrities who didn’t know the details to know. Yoo Yeon Seo shook off Kim Ijun who was bothering him and said.
“I’m uncomfortable.”
“Ah, that’s because…”
“Hey.”
Don’t say it. Yoo Yeon Seo said silently. But they were not the kind of people who wouldn’t notice that.
“What is it?”
“Let me in too.”
“Are the two youngest already forming a faction?”
“What are you talking about behind our backs?”
When Jinsuho joined in the interrogation, Kim Ijun quickly answered.
“No, it turns out he invested in our group.”
“Hey.”
Kim Ijun glanced at Yoo Yeon Seo who was tapping his forehead and turned his head to the other cast members.
“He invested for seven years after he left. That’s why we kept working even though we weren’t popular.”
“Really?”
“Yes, it costs a lot of money to make an album and promote. How can our company keep making comebacks when it’s not even a big one.”
The PD’s eyes widened as if he had never heard of it. This would be a huge hit if he aired it. He smiled at the unexpected jackpot.
“We didn’t know either, but we found out recently. He said he would take responsibility until the contract was over even though he left…”
He would be called a push crusher for investing in a group that couldn’t make it even with a third generation chaebol. OneSeven had risen to almost the top idol position.
In fact, his agency told him to never mention it, but Kim Ijun and the other members thought differently.
The story of OneSeven’s hardships and struggles would be diluted by the fact that Yoo Yeon Seo secretly invested in them, but they couldn’t do nothing when they took his money.
‘We kept working, so we made a comeback and did well… Our fans should know this too.’
Kim Ijun ignored Yoo Yeon Seo’s glare as if he was asking why he said it. He felt embarrassed.
“Oh… He doesn’t look like it, but he’s a loyal guy.”
“It’s nothing. I have a lot of money anyway.”
Yoo Yeon Seo said with a blank expression, and everyone nodded with a meaningful look.
“I think I know Yoo Yeon Seo’s personality. Oh, can I say it? I’m his brother.”
“Yes.”
“Let’s get along well.”
Especially Park Seunghwan, who had heard rumors that Yoo Yeon Seo had a dirty personality and had subtly pressured the PD and Seo writer if this was okay, felt awkward.
‘As long as they don’t air this.’
Yoo Yeon Seo was flustered, but he felt good that the atmosphere around him had changed a bit.
“Then, Yoo Yeon Seo…”
“I’ll try anything you ask me to.”
Yoo Yeon Seo answered quickly. He must have some talent.
***
After the meeting was over and they finished their work in Korea, the production and cast of ‘Welcome to the Guest House’ headed to the airport.
The PD who had made a fuss about putting a top star in economy class handed him a business class ticket.
“Actually, thanks to Yoo Yeon Seo…”
There were a lot of investors who joined without conditions because it was Yoo Yeon Seo’s first variety show. He probably got a lot of money from Juseong.
“The airport we’re going to stop by doesn’t have a runway that can handle a big plane… It’s uncomfortable, but please bear with it.”
The first flight was comfortable, but the second one was different.
They spent an hour on a small plane, another hour on a boat, and 20 minutes on a car, and finally arrived at their destination.
“Do tourists come here?”
“They say it’s a hidden gem of the Mediterranean. It’s close to the nearby countries.”
They quickly dropped their luggage and headed to the beach as if they were enchanted.
“Look at the sea!”
“Wow!”
The sea was so clear that you could see the bottom, and the glittering of the sun breaking on the water reminded him of the place in his memory.
‘The sea…’
It was nice to be here, but… I hope I don’t see any illusions again while filming. Yoo Yeon Seo touched his ear nervously.
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