NOVEL NEXT Chapter 156
Introducing the Joo Seo-yeon Challenge!
It all began with a rather trivial incident.
“Hello, this is Fitness YouTuber Park Ho-seung. One of our members sent me a video and requested my help.”
A handsome guy appeared on the screen.
He was Park Ho-seung, the 1 million subscribers fitness YouTuber.
Naturally, with his good looks and great physique, the female subscriber count skyrocketed, and of course, male subscribers followed suit.
Anyway, he was quite well-known among fitness YouTubers.
He received a video through the introduction of a subscriber.
It was a clip of a certain actress lifting a chair from the recent Golden Duckling show.
“Ah~. It seems that Joo Seo-yeon showed off her chair-lifting skills on Golden Duckling recently.”
As soon as Park Ho-seung saw that, his eyes widened in shock.
How on earth is she lifting that?!
He thought that while watching her grab the backrest and lift it effortlessly. She must’ve worked out a bit.
Regardless of gender, anyone could do it if they had the strength.
With a chuckle, Park Ho-seung watched the rest of the video and waved his hands.
“Ah, no, no. This isn’t right. If you keep doing it like that, your back will break. You know, lifting a person and lifting a barbell or weights are completely different things.”
“So, you can’t do it?” his manager chimed in.
“A high school girl can do it.”
“Yeah, but she’s not your average high school girl.”
“Ah, so you can’t do it, huh? The muscles will scream!”
At his manager’s teasing words, Park Ho-seung just smiled.
“Let’s give it a shot!!”
And that is how it all began.
Of course, since lifting an adult male seemed tough, they invited a female member to sit in the chair.
After properly securing her posture, they used an Aids chair model like the one Seo-yeon had lifted.
“Oh, this chair distributes weight well. If you look here, the lower part is easy to grip…”
He also added such explanations.
Huff!!
Though he couldn’t lift as much as Seo-yeon did, he managed to lift it!
Within just three days, this video’s view count exploded past 3 million.
That’s a whopping million views a day!
And so, this infamous video titled Joo Seo-yeon Challenge became a sensation.
“Lifting your back will hurt. Remember, exercising doesn’t always mean lifting heavy weights—proper form is essential…”
– Ah, but Park Ho-seung just did it easily, lol
– If you’re not as good-looking as Park Ho-seung, you have to lift heavier.
– Don’t call yourself a fitness YouTuber from now on, tsk tsk.
“…”
It’s tough being both good-looking and fit.
There’s always that saying that good looks diminish professionalism, giving the impression of success based on appearance.
Park Ho-seung had that image as a YouTuber.
Given this, the phrase “Park Ho-seung did it” hit differently among other passionate fitness publishers.
“Why is that guy doing that?”
“If he did it, how can I not…?”
This perception spread among fitness YouTubers.
And so, the Joo Seo-yeon Challenge was born.
“Alright folks, let’s have our lovely female guest hop onto the chair!”
“Yes~!”
Surprisingly, once it all started, it turned out quite entertaining for the audience.
Since a female guest was sitting in the chair, she emphasized she was light.
Plus, the fitness YouTuber achieving success in the challenge boosted the view count splendidly.
Thanks to this Joo Seo-yeon Challenge, rookie fitness YouTubers emerged, making it a rite of passage!
“Reports say this, Team Leader.”
“Unbelievable.”
The advertising planning department at Aids was in chaos.
After all, even if the person sitting on top changed, they all used Aids chairs to lift.
As a result, the chair Seo-yeon lifted inadvertently became the gym chair for everyone.
No, it was just an office chair.
“Our chair has great weight distribution! And it’s sturdy, so our ratings are rising too!”
“That’s definitely good news!”
“This month’s sales have already increased by 20%.”
“20%?!”
Kwak Hyun-woo nearly fainted.
Even though the percentage sounds easy, while dropping numbers is easy, rising is a figure he only dreamed about.
He’d heard changing advertising models sometimes led to rises, but…
Wait, we haven’t even aired our ads yet?
They’d merely signed a contract with Seo-yeon.
But if they’re seeing this much growth already…
“Assistant Kim, please remind everyone to treat Actress Joo Seo-yeon with respect.”
“Ah, I’m already doing that.”
At that, Kwak Hyun-woo smiled kindly at Assistant Kim.
I love how well you work, just that kind of smile.
“If everything goes well with the ads and Sky Garden, then…”
If all goes exceptionally well, they might reclaim the throne of the domestic chair market!
Kwak Hyun-woo felt it was not just a pipe dream.
Joo Seo-yeon is the advertising goddess for Aids.
Recent surveys indicated that Éclat Étoile almost treats Joo Seo-yeon like a goddess, and now he understood why.
And the goddess of advertising was currently.
“Didn’t they say they’re improving the image?”
“…”
She was being teased by Park Jung-woo in a little café.
*
In a small café.
Seo-yeon had a meeting with Jung-woo today.
Just to clarify, it wasn’t work-related like advertising or gaming.
This was about grabbing a schedule in advance—a clever business tactic.
“Next year’s schedule?”
Park Jung-woo looked at Seo-yeon.
He was tired of hearing the oft-repeated advice that actresses shouldn’t call male actors carelessly.
Perhaps he thought that just wearing sunglasses and a mask could help.
‘Doing so would realistically help you blend in if you’re not wearing a school uniform.’
Seo-yeon’s default outfit was indeed a school uniform.
So, when not wearing one, her vibe felt entirely different.
She looked like a true actress when out of uniform.
When seen from afar, she appeared almost like an adult woman.
“Why do you ask?”
It was the first time Seo-yeon had asked about her own schedule.
The past shows they had appeared on were in her childhood, like The Moon That Hid the Sun.
And in variety shows like Survival Without Humans.
And recently, there was Dream Future as well.
Surprisingly, the two of them featured often on the same broadcast.
Yet in those shows, Seo-yeon’s and Jung-woo’s opinions didn’t hold much sway.
The Moon That Hid the Sun was originally child actor work.
Survival Without Humans was just Jung-woo stumbling upon the opportunity.
Sure, Dream Future was by their choice to join.
“So, no schedule for next year?”
“Not yet.”
Yeah, not yet.
Unlike Seo-yeon, Jung-woo wasn’t the type to have his schedule packed tightly.
“Well then…”
Seo-yeon hesitated for a moment before speaking up.
“How about Jo Bang-woo’s movie?”
“Jo Bang-woo?”
That name was unexpected.
Jo Bang-woo was once known as the magician of box office hits, but recently…not so much.
There was talk of him putting together another movie next year, but no one thought positively of it.
Some people even called him “Jo Min-tae’s father” now.
He has a successful director son, so maybe as a father, he’d consider it a success.
But as a director? He was washed up.
That perfectly matched him.
“To be honest, I’m not sure. But yes, I’ve heard he’s making a movie next year.”
While saying that, Jung-woo suddenly deduced Seo-yeon’s intention behind the question.
She wouldn’t be suggesting she wants to star in it, right?
“Are you seriously thinking about auditioning for Jo Bang-woo’s movie?”
“I’m considering it. I might not get selected, but…”
“What…?”
Should I really stop her?
Jung-woo felt sincere about that thought.
If it’s Jo Bang-woo’s movie, Jung-woo didn’t want to recommend it at all.
A washed-up director.
Sadly, he somewhat understood that sentiment.
The bright spark he once showcased has now turned rusty, faded, and withered away.
Even the term “retro” wouldn’t even apply.
‘Is it because of their past as child actors?’
He never thought Seo-yeon would cling to that.
But for Seo-yeon, Jo Bang-woo might indeed hold a special connection.
After all, it was Jo Bang-woo who had helped her audition for The Moon That Hid the Sun with him, allowing her to shoot that drama alongside him.
‘Not just with me.’
Jung-woo realized that he wouldn’t have even met Jo Seo-hee if not for Jo Bang-woo’s help.
He suddenly came to that realization.
Jo Bang-woo had been a significant figure for both of them.
‘If Seo-yeon goes for it, she will definitely get cast.’
Jung-woo had read through the entire script for Sky Garden, where Seo-yeon was a lead.
She showed it to him before submitting it to the broadcast station—a nervous Min Se-hee had done so.
There’s no way it wouldn’t succeed.
And with Seo-yeon in the lead? A hundred percent!
Jung-woo was confident enough to bet his acting career on it.
The probability of Sky Garden succeeding was that certain.
‘And let’s not forget Mine as well.’
The audition period might overlap with the release of Mine.
Early or mid-next year.
At that time, what would Seo-yeon’s marketability be?
What’s certain is that only mediocre actors would stuff the auditions for Jo Bang-woo’s movie.
Actors looking for connections, with his movie’s success seeming fuzzy.
How many actors would want to be part of a movie directed by a washed-up director?
Unless the script was genuinely excellent, perhaps… but even then, the competition wouldn’t be high.
And Seo-yeon is going in?
It’s literally like a natural disaster!
Or the higher-ups might even think, why even have auditions when Seo-yeon is already in?
“…I’ll think about it.”
But Jung-woo couldn’t just flat out refuse.
It was one of Seo-yeon’s rare requests to him.
And his instincts signaled some sort of strange omen concerning this movie.
“By the way, didn’t you say you’re improving your image with variety shows? You seem not to be considering that idea?”
“…”
After hearing Park Jung-woo say something positive, she felt a bit relieved, but then his continuation felt like a slap.
Image improvement!
The intelligent side she displayed in Golden Duckling all vanished with the Joo Seo-yeon Challenge!
“Have I improved? At least… I’m not a gorilla anymore.”
“Really? How surprising!”
Even though she became a headbutting dinosaur, Seo-yeon struggled to continue.
*
The impact of Golden Duckling was truly significant.
While she thought she failed in image improvement, it seemed to have firmly implanted a familiar image among the people around her.
When she went to school.
“Seo-yeon, did you watch Golden Duckling yesterday? Your dad was hilarious!”
“Is it really your mom? Oh man, when I watched it with my mom, she looked so bittersweet.”
“That’s right, my mom said the same thing, that she aged a lot because of me.”
“Your little sister was so cute!”
That’s pretty much how the conversations went.
Mostly, “Dad is funny,” “Mom looks beautiful,” and so on.
‘…What about me?’
Seo-yeon felt oddly left out.
Wasn’t she meant to be the star of the variety show?
Why was everyone only talking about her mom and dad?
That made Seo-yeon a bit sad.
“Well, but the headbutting dinosaur is cute.”
“It does look a bit silly though.”
“Hmm.”
The broadcasts increased interactions even at home.
Right now, the cameras were put away for a bit.
In any case, Suah couldn’t deny her daughter’s words.
Our daughter, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly clever.
Saying that might hurt her feelings, so all she did was give her a hug.
Seo-yeon eventually realized that receiving a hug from her mom meant that there were no words left to comfort her.
Anyway, during those moments of affection, she understood why everyone was speaking about her mom.
This was just extraordinary.
“…Dad’s home.”
Just then, Young-bin barged through the door, slamming it open.
As soon as he came in, he was poking around with a long stick he must’ve found somewhere.
“There’s no camera today.”
“Why should I believe that!”
Young-bin exclaimed, sounding wronged.
He was deceived throughout the whole shoot, even at the swimming pool.
Joo Seo-yeon vlog? What was it again?
Anyway, they said they were filming a video for a fan café, but it turned into a nationwide broadcast!!
“Lately, everyone is biting their lower lips when they see me.”
“…Huh.”
“Today I had an interview, and you know what? I went in as an interviewer, and everyone was pinching their thighs and biting their lips.”
Young-bin said, with a tone full of wistfulness.
When he heard that Golden Duckling, featuring Joo Seo-yeon, was broadcasting, he was utterly shocked.
When it aired, his feelings were indescribable.
How would he go to work the next day?
Thoughts like that were racing in his mind, and indeed, when he went to work the day after airing, everyone greeted him with peculiar expressions.
“Wow, truly a deceiver.”
“How could your wife and daughters do that?”
There were people who envied him by talking about family matters instead.
Young-bin’s shoulders unconsciously started to lift again.
However…
“When we’re home, that…sigh!”
“Oh, Team Leader Joo. You have something to say that’s… huh?!”
His co-workers and seniors were all in a fit of laughter.
Whenever Young-bin would just ask one work-related question, it became the most entertaining thing in the world.
Lately, he had almost become a laughter ambassador at work.
What a sad reality.
And not to mention that next week, his wife’s swimsuit image would be revealed to the world.
Let them be..
‘At least I’m better off than my dad.’
Seo-yeon thought so.
She may have turned into a headbutting dinosaur, but wasn’t she still better off than Young-bin, who became the national laugh bell?
And that was not even the end of it.
Due to the aftermath of Golden Duckling, her agency was bombarded with contact requests.
Most of those were from advertisers.
Considering how much Aids stocks had shot up, it makes perfect sense.
“Seo-yeon, we’ve got an ad deal!!”
Her manager, Park Eun-ha, said with a huge smile.
But her gaze felt a little strange.
It seemed like she was trying to gauge Seo-yeon’s reaction.
Wondering why she felt that way, Seo-yeon looked back at her.
“To your mom.”
‘…What about me?’
Seo-yeon felt a little left out again.
And again, just two days later…
“The preview for Sky Garden is coming out now.”
Lee Min-hwa, the PD of Sky Garden, spoke those words on set.
Now, the airing dates were within sight.