pappabearbooks Chapter 211: Summer (14)
Chapter 211: Summer (14)
When it comes to the most famous or active communities overseas, people generally think of 'Reddit'. That’s how massive it is. Posts there cover and share information and issues just like domestic communities, and users of 'Reddit' dive into those topics and create buzz around them.Of course, since it’s such a globally vast community, there’s an overwhelming flood of uploaded information and issues.
Because of that, content that isn’t interesting or eye-catching gets buried, while anything that catches the attention of the international public quickly becomes a hot topic.
Even now, numerous posts are flooding in, and Korean culture and idols are fairly popular keywords.
And then.
“‘Reddit’ is mentioning ‘Vanguard,’ and quite a lot too.”
Just like a team leader-level employee from Netflix Korea murmured a moment ago, some Korean idol groups that include 'Vanguard' were sailing along quite well on 'Reddit'. Upon hearing this, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, who had been looking at the laptop screen, slowly nodded.
“This... is clearly largely due to those idols being featured in ‘NOIR’.”
The build-up started with the internationally famous fashion magazine ‘NOIR’. And now, it had reached 'Reddit'.
“Right, if you look at the idols being mentioned, they’re all groups that were featured in ‘NOIR’.”
Of course, 'Vanguard' wasn’t the only Korean idol group being mentioned, but judging by the sheer volume of discussion, 'Vanguard' was definitely the hottest.
Then another employee asked a question.
“Is the keyword ‘Korean idols’ originally popular on ‘Reddit’? I’m not too familiar.”
Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin answered.
“Broadly speaking, the keyword ‘content’ has a massive presence. Everything else branches out from that. Take our Netflix as an example, no matter which country’s Netflix releases a new original series, evaluations start immediately on ‘Reddit’.”
“Oh, I think I’ve seen that.”
“Well, Korean idols are quite a popular keyword too. It’s a realm that’s hard to find in their own countries. The fact that even ‘NOIR’ covered them is proof that the Korean Wave is growing stronger. Plus, idols themselves are a pretty stimulating product.”
“True- our country’s idols are extremely handsome and pretty.”
“That’s why there’s so much to talk about.”
Soon, the female team leader who first brought up 'Reddit' let out a small laugh.
“Seems like Rojun-nim’s visual is shocking even overseas?”
She clicked on one of the popular 'Reddit' posts centered around 'Vanguard'. The faces of the 'Vanguard' members were displayed, and among them, Kang Rojun’s face was highlighted the most.
The English comments from international users, as viewed by the female team leader, were like this.
-Who is this guy? He’s insanely handsome
-He looks way too young, can’t guess the age of Koreans
-Vanguard? A Kpop group from Korea? Each of them has a different charm but one thing’s for sure, I’m smitten
-That member in the middle looks like CGI, either AI-generated or something
-It’s definitely edited
-That photo was featured in NOIR, there’s no way it’s edited
-If that CGI-like face exists in real life, I could love him forever
-He’s sexy
'Vanguard' was clearly gaining massive attention.
At this, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin smiled.
“The fact that Vanguard has the strongest buzz is a good trend.”
It was likely good news for GN Entertainment as well, but the frequent overseas mentions of 'Vanguard' were a boon for Netflix Korea too. Since they were practically collaborating on a major project related to 'Tale of the Strange Moon'. Feeling the momentum wasn’t ordinary, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin thought of the international fashion magazine ‘NOIR’.
'I feel like bowing in gratitude to ‘NOIR’.'
Meanwhile, at GN Entertainment.
Inside a meeting room at GN Entertainment, Kang Rojun was sitting across from the bear-like CEO Heo Ki-tae. It seemed they had just exchanged greetings, as CEO Heo Ki-tae laughed heartily and gave Rojun a thumbs-up.
“Hahaha! Writer-nim! I saw that ‘Vanguard’ got featured in ‘NOIR’! Congratulations! At this rate, you might be breaking into the U.S. market soon??”
That was jumping a bit too far ahead. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Rojun scratched his chin.
“I’m hoping for it, but the manager-nim says it’s not that easy.”
“Well! That’s probably true, but still, isn’t it all about spirit? Spirit! As long as you’ve got that, the momentum follows! Hahaha.”
“Aha, spirit. I'll put all my strength and aim for that U.S. debut.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it, Writer-nim!”
CEO Heo Ki-tae’s hearty laughter grew even deeper from the morning.
“So you’ve already written up to Episode 6 of ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’?”
“Yes.”
Rojun, who nodded, held out the stack of papers he had brought.
“Episode 5 and 6 of ‘Tale of the Strange Moon.’ I already gave you Episode 5, but I made some revisions.”
CEO Heo Ki-tae, who received the scripts of Episode 5 and 6 as if they were treasures, had a twinkle in his eyes.
“Oooooh... To think you managed to finish Episode 6 with that packed schedule. Your speed is absurdly fast, Writer-nim. When I got the call from you I wondered if it was real??”
“I was busy, but I wrote whenever I could find time, and somehow I managed to finish it.”
“You say ‘whenever I could’, but it’s no small feat to produce two scripts just like that. This is truly amazing. Anyway... we’ve finally wrapped up the full script for season 1 of ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’. Well done.”
Season 1 writing was complete. They would now move into preparing for season 2, and though it wasn’t exactly the end but rather a beginning, CEO Heo Ki-tae didn’t push Rojun further.
‘Just by finishing the season 1 content at this pace, we’ve saved an enormous amount of time.’
Now that the full scripts for season 1 were complete, it was obvious that the production of 'Tale of the Strange Moon' would gain a booster. Still, Heo Ki-tae, who was burning with the urge to read it right away, swallowed hard.
“I’ll deliver this to Netflix Korea immediately.”
He began explaining the production status of 'Tale of the Strange Moon' in order.
“PD Jung Soo-ryeong is probably super busy as well, she’s working on the storyboard while also handling actor casting auditions. Ah! I heard the casting is about halfway finalized. Once the main cast lineup, including Rojun, is revealed, we’ll launch the promotions right away.”
In addition to location scouting and set construction, 'Tale of the Strange Moon' had already passed through the early and mid stages of pre-production.
“Since it’s a historical-style drama, we’ll be putting a lot of effort into the location scouting and set designs, but now that the full scripts for season 1 are done, everything will move even faster!”
After hearing the progress of 'Tale of the Strange Moon', Kang Rojun passed the baton and shared the status of ‘Royal Procession’. He mentioned that the official recording had recently been completed.
“Once the choreography is ready, we’ll probably start practice right away.”
“I see, it’s good to hear that the collaboration side is also progressing smoothly!”
“Oh! And the first concept shoot for ‘Royal Procession’ is coming up soon too.”
“Yes, I’ve already been informed about that.”
CEO Heo Ki-tae smiled, gave a double thumbs-up, and responded.
“Most of the people involved with ‘Tale of the Strange Moon’ will probably attend that day.”
Later.
Over the weekend, the internet was flooded with news about various idol groups.
《[Star Talk] Was it because of their feature in ‘NOIR’? Global community ‘Reddit’ is heating up with Korean idols! / Photo》
《Korean Wave ignites, idol power burning hot even overseas》
Following ‘NOIR’, the massive global community 'Reddit' had become the next big topic. While the trigger was entertainment companies picking up on overseas community trends, media outlets also quickly jumped on board after confirming the news.
The more this happened, the more talk there was about 'Vanguard'.
《‘Vanguard,’ nearing the end of their activities, starting to build recognition overseas?》
《“This member's face looks like a CGI!” ‘Vanguard’ Rojun captivates international audiences / Photo》
《From ‘NOIR’ to ‘Reddit’... Is ‘Vanguard’ on the verge of an overseas debut? The most promising atmosphere among idols》
A few media outlets did show a slightly negative stance.
《GN Entertainment in a festive mood thanks to ‘Vanguard’ getting overseas attention, but some netizens call it “overhyped”》
To be objective, it was a topic that could flare up for a few days or a week and then cool down. From one perspective, it could be seen as trivial. But for 'Vanguard', it was clearly a positive factor, and the fact that they were gaining overseas fans without any particular effort was significant.
-Why’s everyone freaking out ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ it’s not like only Vanguard was featured in NOIR ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-True, the media is totally exaggerating... Reddit is a global community that dabbles in everything anyway...
-The irrational bashers are back ㅋㅋㅋㅋ just let Vanguard keep stacking up international fans like this and move on
-If a first-year idol is getting hot overseas, that’s something to praise ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ haters tsk tsk
It wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
Monday, the 19th, after the weekend.
From early morning, dozens of staff members were busily moving around a large filming studio.
“Please set up the camera!!!”
“Coming through!”
“Is wardrobe not ready yet?!”
“All set!”
“There’s a coffee truck outside! Who ordered it??”
“Ah, I heard it was sent by the 'Vanguard' fan club!”
Seeing that 'Vanguard' was present amid the shouts, it seemed to be a set related to them. Soon, familiar faces began to arrive behind the filming crew. Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, who had a smart impression, along with some staff from Netflix Korea.
“Hello-”
Two minutes later, the bear appeared. No, it was CEO Heo Ki-tae. He, too, arrived with Team Leader Ryu Jung-hwa and other staff from Culture Drawer.
“Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, hello.”
“Yes, CEO. You’re here early.”
“I rushed over because I was curious, hahaha!”
As Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin and CEO Heo Ki-tae exchanged greetings.
-Swish.
A woman with disheveled brown hair tied up. In other words, PD Jung Soo-ryeong entered the studio. Her face was full of fatigue, and she was accompanied by key staff members of 'Tale of the Strange Moon'.
“Ah! PD Jung, you’re here.”
“Whew, I thought I’d be the first one here.”
“Haha! You’re the last.”
The filming crew remained busy preparing, while Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, CEO Heo Ki-tae, PD Jung Soo-ryeong, and their groups settled in a spot slightly away from the filming zone.
The number of people had clearly increased a lot.
The reason all the people related to 'Tale of the Strange Moon' had gathered was simple.
“Already doing a concept shoot? Things are moving fast here too.”
Today, the first concept shoot for ‘Royal Procession’, the key collaboration of 'Tale of the Strange Moon', was set to begin here. Naturally, the stars were 'Vanguard'. Soon, as PD Jung Soo-ryeong scanned the hectic filming set, she asked,
“But where’s Writer Rojun and the members of ‘Vanguard’?”
The first to arrive, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, answered quickly.
“Looks like they’re getting their makeup and outfits ready.”
“Ah, I see.”
Just then, the GN Entertainment team entered the studio. Manager Kim Ki-baek could be seen among them. He met eyes with PD Jung Soo-ryeong and approached. With a weary tone, Kim Ki-baek greeted her and distributed today’s photo storyboard to everyone.
“Hmm- Please use this for reference as you watch.”
Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, CEO Heo Ki-tae, PD Jung Soo-ryeong, and their staff immediately became immersed in the storyboard.
-Swish.
Then, Manager Kim Ki-baek moved on and slipped between today’s photographer and filming staff. They were also reviewing the storyboard.
“Rojun- will be the king, Si-hoo the merchant, Kang-min the nobleman, and Do-kyung the commoner to start. All the members will try out the king concept too- Ah, Manager-nim. Are we also doing Do-kyung’s rogue concept?”
“Let’s go ahead with it for now, we can pick from the results later.”
“Understood. By the way, where are the members of ‘Vanguard’?”
“They’ll be here soon.”
Manager Kim Ki-baek looked around the large filming studio. It was divided into several sections, all designed with a Joseon Dynasty background, palace, marketplace, courtyard of a traditional tile-roofed house, and so on. Of course, it wasn’t a fully constructed set, but rather a semi-temporary setup.
‘It’s just the first concept shoot anyway, this is plenty enough.’
For official photos or the music video that would later be revealed to the public, they planned to shoot on properly constructed sets and locations.
‘Still, even with a simple temporary set, it gives off a strong Joseon-era vibe.’
At that moment, someone shouted across the entire set.
“Rojun-nim is coming in!!!”
Manager Kim Ki-baek, PD Jung Soo-ryeong, Executive Director Lim Hyun-jin, CEO Heo Ki-tae, and dozens of filming staff all turned their heads toward the entrance.
As the guiding staff stepped aside, the king appeared.
No, it was Kang Rojun.
-Swish.
Though Rojun was grumbling to himself about how awkward he felt.
'Ugh, it's more uncomfortable than I thought... my head is itchy too.'
His neatly tied black topknot, with a headband securing the loose strands around his forehead, and the deep red royal robe embroidered with a golden dragon across the shoulders and chest. It was a slightly modernized and lighter version, but overall gave off a stylish appearance.
The king’s procession. Truly 'Royal Procession'.
Though it was just a concept, Kang Rojun had become the king. And with just his entrance, the dozens of people watching him were momentarily dazed.
“......”
“......”
And PD Jung Soo-ryeong, who was staring blankly at Rojun who had become a king, let out a hollow laugh as if possessed.
“No way... how can a king's face look like that? He’s way too handsome.”