Chapter 17

Villain Only Acting 017

First Rating Good Rating (1)

- Who is Private Jeong?

- Wow. (Throws a meme)

- Oh my. Who is this? A rookie?

- Seems like it. No filmography at all. His career is very clean.

- Jeong Seohoon? There’s nothing about him except his name.

- Why all the fuss over an extra?

- He’s handsome. That’s enough.

- Yeah, that’s enough.

- Perfectly my type.

The initial buzz was mainly focused on his appearance.

The internet fandom was in the mood of "A fresh and promising face has finally appeared."

In this situation, the production team released a part of the making film on YouTube.

It was a scene where Cha Dojin and Jeong Seohoon were in a two-shot, looking at each other while doing a reading.

The fire was slightly fanned.

- What? His diction is good?

- I turned on the automatic subtitles on YouTube, and not a single word was wrong. Haha.

- Did he prepare to be an announcer and then switch to acting?

- First, his face is fresh. My type.

- Possible.

- Yeah, possible. Isn’t he?

- Given that he doesn’t have an agency, he seems to be a real rookie. He probably got in through an audition. PD Song Jeong-woo is famous for discovering new talent.

- If it’s a discovery by Song Jeong-woo, he’ll probably become a star soon. Joining the fan club early is a long-term strategy.

- Why is there so little information about him besides his face and name?

The YouTube making film video recorded over 2 million views, showcasing the rising anticipation for the drama.

- Ah, just air it already. When is the first episode?

- Only three days left. How can I wait three days?

- Given that the making film is out, it seems like an important role. Why is his name at the end of the extras list?

- He probably doesn’t appear often. They couldn’t give a rookie too much weight, so he might have a short but significant role.

- Everyone, my brother, who has never acted before, was scouted by a director and got into the drama through an audition. He was upgraded from an extra to a supporting role. Is this a good sign?

- Are you not seeing the current buzz? Local broadcasting is not the answer.

- High-level sibling bragging. No proof, though.

- Proof, please.

- This is not a novel serialization site. Click the link and read the serialization.

Jeong Su-yeon smirked as she continuously played with her phone.

There was a decent response on SNS and community sites.

While it wasn’t a raging fire from the start, there were signs of a core fandom forming.

'Buzz building should be done carefully and in advance.'

If the buzz buildup is too obvious, it might be caught by the internet detective squad later.

It’s important to maintain a delicate balance.

There are many cases where posts made carelessly by the person or their family and friends early in their career come back to haunt them.

'This level of innocent and thoughtless secret bragging is just right. But if it gets buried, it will be a problem.'

Jeong Su-yeon glanced at her brother, who had just finished exercising.

The tight, sweat-soaked workout clothes showed the firm contours of his upper body muscles.

While they were repulsive organic compounds to her, wouldn’t the female fans who are infatuated with Lee Jin-wook be thrilled?

She quickly took a photo with her camera.

"What are you doing?"

"Creating content for the fandom."

"If you sell it for money, you’ll die."

"Am I stupid? I’ve been in this industry for years. Just wait. You’ll thank me later."

After taking a few more photos, Jeong Su-yeon checked the SNS and community reactions again.

"But your face and name are out, and strangely, no one you know is showing up? Did you get kicked out of college or something?"

"Our department people don’t watch dramas. They don’t have the time."

"Even if it’s the electronics department, which is mostly guys, what about high school? Oh, right. You went to a science high school. That makes sense."

Jeong Su-yeon felt a bit sorry.

If someone from his acquaintances had appeared early to leave a pilgrimage post, it would have been like a savings account for later.

"Then, do your friends not know you’re in the drama?"

"No, they don’t. I didn’t tell them."

"Even your female friends must know, right?"

"I don’t have any female friends. I don’t give my number to girls."

"But there must be some female friends in your department, right?"

"Do you exchange numbers with all your department mates?"

"......Is it a relief that there won’t be any scandals in the future?"

***

The day of the first episode of "Illegal" arrived.

Jeong Seohoon and his sister decided to watch the drama with their family at home.

Jeong Seohoon, who didn’t want to rewatch scenes he had already seen, was called by his mother.

"When will you have such a precious experience again? Stop complaining and watch it with us in the living room."

Before the broadcast started, messages from Song Jeong-woo and Kim Sang-hee came in.

They were encouraging and congratulating him, and asking him to do his best in the future.

The only contacts from the drama team were these two.

While their mother was cutting fruit, commercials were playing on TV.

"It would have been nice if Dad could have watched it too. This goose family thing is really not good."

Their father had been working in the U.S. for a long time.

Jeong Su-yeon, eating a piece of fruit, asked,

"What does Dad say?"

"Your father isn’t interested in such things. He just said it’s an interesting experience."

"Dad is a workaholic, isn’t he?"

"Thanks to his hard work, you’ve been able to spend years as an actor without affecting the family finances, you know."

"Why are you always picking on me?"

"Seohoon got scouted while sitting there and made ten million won in a few days. Think about what you’ve earned."

"It’s starting! Start it, Mom!"

Just as all the commercials ended, the first episode began.

After the suicide of a debtor defendant, Go Jeman, who had given up on being a judge and opened a law firm with a serious dream, became a divorce lawyer for wealthy Gangnam ladies, contrary to his initial intentions.

One day, while he was in a rut, living a hamster wheel life...

- Are you suing the Ministry of National Defense?

- I’ve been sued.

- Sued?

- They say I killed my comrades.

- I’ll help you. I’ll take this case.

Meeting Lee Jin-wook, who had an unjust story, Go Jeman’s legal career took a dramatic turn.

Go Jeman tried his best for Lee Jin-wook, but the influence of the Ministry of National Defense was overwhelming.

- It’s impossible for a single private with insufficient combat experience to wipe out an entire squad! All the evidence at the scene points to a surprise attack by an insurgent group! The prosecutor is making a judgment based solely on the testimony of one survivor who is not mentally sound!

Go Jeman’s struggles continued endlessly.

The case eventually made it to the media and became known to the general public.

Families with sons in the military were enraged by Lee Jin-wook’s story.

- When we send our sons, they’re ours, but when they get hurt or disabled, they’re yours! You bastards!

- You drag a child who doesn’t want to go to a far-off foreign country, make him suffer, and now you want to pin a false charge on him to feel satisfied!

The anger of the citizens in the drama made Jeong Seohoon’s mother, who had recently sent her son to the military, turn red with rage.

"Those bastards! Oh, those bad guys!"

Despite his best efforts, Go Jeman lost the first trial, and a guilty verdict was handed down.

After the trial, Go Jeman’s voice, delivering the verdict over the phone, was heavy.

- It’s not over yet. There are two more trials. Don’t worry about the fees; let’s see this through to the end.

- Lawyer, it seems hard to overturn. Everyone says so.

- It’s not over until it’s over.

- I will reveal my innocence in my own way. Thank you for everything. I won’t forget it. Forever.

"Are you kidding? Are these producers crazy! What if they cut it off here!"

As the ominous two-shot of the phone call was captured and the OST started playing, her mother erupted in anger.

"Oh, my dear. Why is this usually calm person so excited?"

"Am I not supposed to be excited? Tell me! What happens in the next episode? Seohoon can’t possibly go to jail, right?"

"Even if someone goes to jail, it won’t be Seohoon. Don’t worry. And the next episode’s spoilers... I can’t reveal them even if I die. Sorry."

Jeong Su-yeon’s heart skipped a beat.

Seeing her mother’s honest reaction, she felt that the drama was definitely well-made.

Kim Sang-hee thoroughly appealed to the maternal instincts of the viewers.

Moreover, the two male actors’ visuals were pleasing to the eye, so it seemed that the young female fan base would also be well-captured.

Even the female prosecutor, Yoo Jeong-a, didn’t miss the attention of male fans.

Jeong Su-yeon chatted non-stop with the staff