Chapter 58

< Rapid Current (3) >

Kang Ujin looked at his SNS account and puffed out his cheeks slightly. Thirty thousand? Thirty thousand people followed my account? It felt surreal since it was the first time he had ever used SNS.

Anyway.

‘Thirty thousand in just one day?’

Kang Ujin, who had roughly grasped that it was not a small number, thought to himself. Well, if it were a top actress like Hong Hye-yeon, she might not think much of thirty thousand, but Kang Ujin had been completely unknown until yesterday. Even now, he was still an ordinary citizen.

Yet, thirty thousand people had followed him.

“......”

Kang Ujin slowly moved his hand and touched one of the photos Han Ye-jung had posted. Sure enough, it had a lot of likes and comments.

- I enjoyed the drama!!

- Your acting was so good that I followed you....^^

- What? Did this actor win an acting award too?? I need to check it out!

- You... You succeeded in seducing me, but Park Dal-ri is scary lol

- Wait? Why isn't this person Park Dal-ri in real life? When you dress up, you're just so cool???? Wow???

- ㅠㅠㅠㅠYou're so handsome ㅠㅠㅠㅠ

- I'm sorry to say this on our first meeting, but I love you

- Your acting was amazing, I support you!

·

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There were over a hundred comments. As Ujin scrolled through them, he felt something.

‘Ah, this is what SNS is for. There's a real sense of connection!’

The feeling was different from the comments on news articles or YouTube videos he had seen overnight. It was as if they were cheering for him right in front of him.

At that moment.

“Ujin.”

Choi Sung-geun spoke, perhaps concerned that Kang Ujin wasn't watching the drama.

“Why? What are you looking at? What happened?”

Kang Ujin slowly lifted his head.

‘It’s happening, it’s really happening.’

Then, in a low voice, he murmured.

“No, I was just looking at my SNS.”

“Ah, I see. I thought it was something else. When I checked earlier, it was around 20,000. What is it now?”

“Thirty thousand.”

“Yeah, that's good.”

Good? Is that your reaction? Why are you so calm? Ujin continued speaking calmly, despite his inner turmoil.

“Isn’t that a lot?”

“Hmm? It is. But tomorrow, it will probably be even more.”

Jang Su-hwan and Han Ye-jung nodded in agreement, and Choi Sung-geun, with his ponytail, tied his hair up again.

“You saw the company today, right? The phones were ringing off the hook. Half of the calls were about you. Check our official website now. The bulletin board is exploding, asking who you are. It was already chaotic with Hye-yeon, but with you included, the administrator couldn’t handle it.”

“I saw the bulletin board.”

“After adjusting the search results, your profile picture was changed, and that also helped. When people searched for Park Dal-ri, they found out your main character was different. I saw the Han-ryang side chat board; it’s going crazy. By the way, the first episode had a 20% rating.”

Choi Sung-geun pointed at the TV with his index finger, smirking.

“You’re the one controlling the pace of this mega-hit drama. How can people not notice you?”

“......”

“It’s a very natural process for your fans to start growing. Of course, you are a special case. It’s rare for a debut drama to become this big. No, it’s unprecedented.”

Fans. Kang Ujin focused on the word ‘fans’ even as he listened to the explanation. Was it really happening? Fans were actually forming. It was incredible to see fans growing in real time, something he had only seen in the media.

‘......Will my fan club start forming right away??’

At this point, Choi Sung-geun’s smile deepened, as if reading Ujin’s thoughts.

“At this rate, your fan club will form soon.”

Crazy. So, fan meetings and hugs with fans? Kang Ujin’s life as an ordinary person was gradually transforming into that of an actor. All in just one day. If this continues, what changes will there be tomorrow, or the day after?

At that moment.

“Ah! Ujin hyung!”

Jang Su-hwan, with chicken seasoning around his mouth, pointed at the TV excitedly.

“Park Dal-ri appears!”

In the second part of ‘Profiler Han-ryang,’ Park Dal-ri had already appeared.

It was the situation after Yoo Ji-hyung announced the possibility of a serial killer to the public. The police and prosecution were in chaos, and the entire nation was trembling at the re-emergence of the serial killer.

The monster, who had disappeared, had reappeared after several years and killed again. Yoo Ji-hyung and detective Jung Yeon-hee had to work together.

However.

[“I came to turn myself in.”]

The situation changed dramatically when Park Dal-ri turned himself in at a nearby police station. The pace of ‘Profiler Han-ryang,’ which had been flowing slowly in the middle, suddenly accelerated. The tension, which had been somewhat loose, spiked.

From here, the scenes of each character were shown in quick succession.

The serial killer’s surrender, the rapid spread of news among the police, the confused prosecution, and Yoo Ji-hyung’s quick move to see Park Dal-ri. Then, Park Dal-ri sat calmly in the interrogation room, watched by many people.

The second part of ‘Profiler Han-ryang’ felt like the final episode.

It was that intense and climactic. Especially, Park Dal-ri’s appearance was very impressive. His face was often close-up in the editing, and he expressed emotions without many lines. The viewers couldn’t miss it.

[“Oh, right. I did kill them. But are you not going to give me food?”]

It was a perfect blend of psychopath and sociopath. Initially, he was clearly a psychopath, but over time, Park Dal-ri showed sociopathic tendencies. It wasn’t an instant change but a gradual one, as if slowly entangling the viewers watching the drama.

Later, in the mid-to-late part. The confrontation between Yoo Ji-hyung and Park Dal-ri.

The interrogation room scene was a silent war. The well-timed BGM, the eye battles between characters, and the concise dialogue.

And.

[“The reason I turned myself in is to prove that I didn’t do it.”]

Yoo Ji-hyung’s line followed Park Dal-ri’s.

[“Is there another culprit?”]

The second part of ‘Profiler Han-ryang’ came to an end.

At the same time, the official website’s chat board and various communities of ‘Profiler Han-ryang’ were on fire.

- Holy sh*t

- No, I was 100% sure Park Dal-ri did it, but there’s another culprit??

- Damn, it’s so exciting

- I got chills when Park Dal-ri turned himself in lol. The acting is amazing

- Wow~ I thought Park Dal-ri was different from the beginning, and he really carried the episode today

- No... Why is Hong Hye-yeon so beautiful?? Even with a bruise on her face, she’s still gorgeous

- What? How can it end like this? How do I survive until next week? Give me part 3! Give me part 3!!!!

The expression "on fire" was an understatement.

- The actor who played Park Dal-ri, Kang Ujin? This guy is definitely going to be a star

- But the murder method was the same as Park Dal-ri’s. So, is the real culprit mimicking Park Dal-ri?

- The interrogation room scene was intense... Yoo Ji-hyung and Park Dal-ri’s psychological battle was amazing...

- ↑Park Dal-ri was really intense

- Seriously, it felt like an hour and a minute lol. It’s been a while since I had something to look forward to, and I’m glad

- Ryu Jeong-min’s acting has improved a lot, but the actor who played Park Dal-ri was amazing lol

- Park Dal-ri is the core now. He’s controlling the pace all by himself.

- When it starts to get a bit boring, Park Dal-ri comes in and it suddenly gets really interesting

- All the actors in ‘Profiler Han-ryang’ have no acting flaws, which makes it even more exciting. Damn, give us part 3

It was like a disaster.

The next morning.

The ratings for the second part of ‘Profiler Han-ryang,’ which aired on Friday and Saturday, were announced on Sunday, the 17th.

[Official] ‘Profiler Han-ryang’ Part 2 Overall Rating 23.2%, Rewriting Drama History

Breaking 23%.

It was an unstoppable momentum. However, PD Song Man-woo, who was at the SBC Drama Department, was both happy and quickly gave instructions to the assistant directors and staff.

“Alright! For today, the journalists will stir up the buzz on their own, so let it be. Starting from tomorrow, upload the edited YouTube videos with a time delay!”

“Yes!”

“Also, distribute the prepared press releases and start the planned SNS events immediately!”

To maintain this explosive momentum until the third part, which would air next week, and to increase the awareness even more. Maintaining a drama is harder than starting it.

PD Song Man-woo knew this very well.

“And contact the actors! Reconfirm the promotion schedule for next week!”

Currently, the entire internet.

[Issue Talk] ‘Profiler Han-ryang’ Shakes the Nation in Two Days, How High Will It Go?

‘Profiler Han-ryang’ had taken over.

On Monday, the next day.

Early in the morning. Inside a large black van, a woman who looked like a celebrity was constantly looking down at her phone. She had long hair that reached her chest, long legs, a mole under her eye, and was in her early to mid-20s.

In fact, she was the leader of a famous girl group.

Her name was Hwalin. She was in charge of the acting part in the long-running 8-year girl group ‘Ellani,’ and all four members of ‘Ellani’ were doing well in their respective fields. Among them, Hwalin was very popular both as a member of the girl group and as an actress. Currently, she was on a solo career after the group’s activities ended.

What she was looking at on her phone now was.

[Actor IS] Is He a Newcomer? In-depth Analysis of Kang Ujin, Who Played ‘Park Dal-ri’

It was an article about Kang Ujin. After reading the article carefully, Hwalin checked another one. This one also included Kang Ujin.

At that moment.

“Hwalin.”

A fat man sitting in the passenger seat sighed deeply. He was probably a manager at the director level.

“Why aren’t you looking at the ad script? What are you looking at?”

“Ah, just a moment.”

“I’m going crazy. Ever since you came back from the ‘Mijangsen Film Festival,’ you’ve been out of it. You begged to go see short films, and now you’re acting like you’ve lost your mind.”

“I haven’t lost my mind. I’m fine.”

“Sigh... I sent you there because I knew you were passionate about finding movies, but I wonder if it was a mistake.”

Hwalin, who was actually passionate about movies, whether they were art, short, independent, or commercial, watched the fat manager shake his head.

“Do it again, and you’ll get in trouble with the CEO. Ah! Don’t tell the CEO that I sent you to the Mijangsen festival? I’ll die.”

“I won’t tell. Don’t worry.”

“So, why are you lying there looking at something instead of the script?”

“‘Profiler Han-ryang’ article.”

“Ah! That was a huge hit, right? It had a 20% rating? Cr- You should have been in it.”

“What?”

“Did you send congratulations to Hong Hye-yeon? They meet for wine when they’re bored.”

Hwalin, still focused on her phone, replied.

“I called her on the first episode. Ah, just a moment, be quiet.”

The manager, who had no intention of being quiet, pointed to the pile of papers on Hwalin’s seat.

“What do you mean be quiet? Don’t you need to catch a big project? Have you checked the scripts you received?”

“Later, later.”

“Ha, are you going to use the scripts to wipe your ass? The CEO said to find a project quickly. Oh, dear.”

“......”

Soon, Hwalin closed her mouth and started reading the article again.

‘So, ‘Hunting Agency’ and Han-ryang’s Park Dal-ri are the same Kang Ujin, right?’

It felt like she was investigating Kang Ujin. Why? Because she had seen ‘Hunting Agency.’ The ‘Kim Ryu-jin’ in it. She didn’t know the actor Kang Ujin, but there was no information.

The curiosity started from there.

‘I’ve never seen acting like that. The character comes to life. He’s a newcomer, but the detailed acting is insane. He must have been acting for a long time. Maybe he was in theater for a long time. Yes, that’s it.’

Hwalin, who had seen ‘Profiler Han-ryang’ with her close friend Hong Hye-yeon, was curious about the actor who played Park Dal-ri, the scene stealer. She felt a thrill. It was like fate.

‘Kim Ryu-jin, Park Dal-ri. Their acting methods were completely different. Why isn’t it mentioned in the articles? I thought it was really cool.’

So, she had been searching for information about Kang Ujin since yesterday. Any information, anything.

This was more like.

‘Is he from a theater company? What school did he go to? How old is he?’

It was closer to a fan’s curiosity. Hwalin, who had never experienced this feeling before, didn’t quite understand it herself.

‘No previous works. Are there any unknown short films? Damn, why is there so little information?’

This was the beginning of her ‘fandom’.

Meanwhile, in a large office apartment.

It looked like a place where people lived, but this office apartment was actually an office. There were desks in the living room, and a large whiteboard on the wall. Various items were scattered throughout the space.

It had a similar atmosphere to a variety show department.

Well, that wasn’t wrong. This office was the meeting room of the large YouTube channel ‘Sports Day.’ ‘Sports Day’ had 3 million subscribers.

And the leader of this channel was.

“Hmm-”

A man who had just sat at his desk and let out a sigh.

One of the few giants in the domestic variety show industry. PD Yoon Byung-sun. His variety shows were legendary, achieving decent ratings and always sparking discussions. PD Yoon Byung-sun was also active between ‘Sports Day’ and the broadcasting station.

Currently, PD Yoon Byung-sun was watching TV with several writers. More accurately, they were monitoring.

They were rewatching the hit ‘Profiler Han-ryang’ to create content and conduct research according to the scheduled plan. PD Yoon Byung-sun was silently watching the drama, while the writers around him were busy taking notes.

At that moment.

“Hey.”

PD Yoon Byung-sun, wearing glasses, pointed at the TV with his index finger.

“The psychopath actor. What’s his name?”

One of the writers showed a survey sheet.

“Actor Kang Ujin. He’s a newcomer.”

“Why wasn’t this actor in the ‘Han-ryang Team’ shoot? He’s not on the cast list, right?”

“Yes. Ah, Ryu Jeong-min, Hong Hye-yeon, Lee Do-jung... Kang Ujin is not on the list.”

“Why wasn’t he included?”

Another writer answered.

“He wasn’t even considered. When we were coordinating with the Han-ryang team, he wasn’t even mentioned. I found out he won an acting award at Mijangsen, but at that time, we didn’t know he was in Han-ryang.”

“Was he hidden by the Han-ryang team?”

“Probably. Looking at it, he’s a proper scene stealer. To make him stand out, they had to hide him.”

PD Yoon Byung-sun, slowly nodding, carefully observed Park Dal-ri in the TV. Or rather, Kang Ujin, who was playing Park