NOVEL NEXT Chapter 259
– Has anyone been to the Newlike Department Store in Yeouido? Is that really Joo Seo-yeon in the Beol ad there?
On the evening the Beol pop-up opened, such a post appeared on an online community.
Since it was a community that mostly dealt with entertainment gossip, comments quickly poured in.
– Yeah, it’s Joo Seo-yeon. How many actresses have that kind of look?
– LOL, but seriously, for a moment I couldn’t tell who it was. Her image is completely different, right?
– For real, LOL.
Joo Seo-yeon’s usual image can be summed up in two ways: a lively, quirky girl like a 4D retriever, or the strong, gorilla-meme-like high school girl.
But the Seo-yeon in today’s Beol pop-up ad didn’t match any of her usual images.
– Remember when Joo Seo-yeon first appeared on a variety show? That’s exactly what she looked like back then.
– Oh, right! Now that you mention it, it does feel like that.
– Princess Yeonhwa, yeah. That’s why people were worried if she could pull off the villain role as Cha Seo-ah.
– She did show some of that in the play…
– But plays and movies are different, you know.
It feels like it’s been forever since the beginning of this year, which just shows how strong Seo-yeon’s image has been this year.
While many used to think of Princess Yeonhwa when they heard Joo Seo-yeon, now most associate her with Cha Seo-ah.
– Did they sharpen the knife for this Beol pop-up? I heard they’re releasing a making video too.
– They’re really going all out with the promotion for this pop-up.
– But if Park Jung-woo and Joo Seo-yeon appear together, I’d totally check it out, LOL.
– The concept feels like Seo-il and Princess Yeonhwa meeting in modern times.
– Who’s Seo-il?
└ The male lead from *The Moon That Hid the Sun*.
Beol didn’t just stop at putting up ads in the department store; they announced they’d upload a making video on their website and YouTube.
Immediately, various media outlets started reacting.
Prepared articles and quick-moving YouTubers.
“I was planning to review a movie today, but I think I’ll review a different drama instead.”
Especially Han Bong-sik, a YouTuber whose channel skyrocketed to 1.4 million subscribers thanks to Joo Seo-yeon, was one of the fastest to react.
“You know *The Moon That Hid the Sun*, right? The drama that came out 10 years ago. I’m planning to focus on that for a while…”
– Bong-sik… are you trying to ride the Joo Seo-yeon wave again?
– He hasn’t reviewed any of her dramas or movies in a while.
– That’s because he already reviewed them all, LOL.
– And he already reviewed *The Moon That Hid the Sun* before.
“Hey! That’s not it! You’re misinterpreting my pure intentions.”
Bong-sik pretended to be serious, then coughed lightly.
“As I mentioned at the start of the stream, I went to the Newlike Department Store today to buy some clothes for my mom.”
– Han Bong-sik, the filial son, wow.
– I wish I could buy clothes for my parents at a department store too, T_T.
“Anyway, when I got there, I saw the Beol ad with Joo Seo-yeon and Park Jung-woo.”
Bong-sik looked at the photo and thought, “This is it!”
After all, they said the Beol ad making video would be released today.
“Probably not many of you have seen *The Moon That Hid the Sun*. It’s a 10-year-old drama.”
– Didn’t you already review *The Moon That Hid the Sun* before?
“That was just a quick one. I didn’t focus much on her child actor days back then.”
Bong-sik had indeed reviewed *The Moon That Hid the Sun* before, but he only briefly covered the first three episodes and focused more on the later episodes, where Princess Yeonhwa had grown up.
But this time was different. He was focusing on episodes 1 to 3.
“Before Joo Seo-yeon appeared as Cha Seo-ah in *The Chaser*, most people remembered her as Princess Yeonhwa.”
10 years. That’s how long she was remembered for such a strong child actor performance.
“So when I saw the Beol ad, I couldn’t help but think of those days.”
The child actor’s performance that had everyone talking back then. After seeing it, Bong-sik decided to review *The Moon That Hid the Sun* from the beginning again.
“The ad had a grown-up Princess Yeonhwa right there.”
– Really? I can’t imagine Joo Seo-yeon having that kind of image.
– I saw it too, and honestly, I thought it was someone else, LOL.
– It’s a bit of a cynical image, but the Joo Seo-yeon in the Beol ad is definitely different.
“Right? That’s exactly how I felt.”
Bong-sik checked the time. It was 11:55 PM.
He had deliberately delayed the stream today, so there were fewer viewers than usual. But he had no choice.
The Beol making video was set to drop at exactly 12 AM.
“Let’s watch the making video first. I usually don’t review ad videos, but today I really want to see it because of the *The Moon That Hid the Sun* vibes.”
– LOL, Joo Seo-yeon probably caused chaos during filming.
– Bong-sik’s illusions are about to be shattered.
– The fact that people still have illusions about Joo Seo-yeon is hilarious, LOL. Mine were shattered when she pierced the coconut with her finger.
– Anyone who still has illusions will lose them after seeing her on that Japanese variety show with the bear.
As they chatted lightly, they waited for the video to drop. Exactly at 12 AM.
The Beol making video was uploaded. A 10-minute making video.
‘Not too short, not too long.’
Bong-sik thought the length was just right. After all, it’s a making video. If it’s too long, there’s not much to see, and it’s just filled with small talk.
*Click*
When he pressed play, a soft voice whispered in his ear.
“Seo-il.”
“Ah, stop it.”
“Director, you asked for this.”
A girl covering her mouth with her sleeve, smiling with her eyes. Park Jung-woo looking at her with a blank expression.
His face couldn’t hide his confusion, but the viewers weren’t much different.
– Seo-il????
– Who is that????
– ??????
The chat was flooded with question marks, the so-called “hooks.” Even Bong-sik was momentarily speechless.
‘Who is that?’
Probably everyone who watched the video thought the same. The girl who whispered “Seo-il” with a mischievous gaze was looking at Park Jung-woo.
“That’s… Joo Seo-yeon, right?”
Bong-sik asked the viewers again. He had seen the Beol ad earlier. Sure, he was nostalgic and wanted to review *The Moon That Hid the Sun* again, but he thought part of it was due to the photo.
But the video was on a whole different level of impact.
“Joo Seo-yeon, please stand there. Like you’re under a tree.”
Seo-yeon stood in front of a green background, as if she were under a tree. Park Jung-woo stood beside her. After all, the main focus of the ad was Park Jung-woo.
“If it were really a tree, I think it would remind me of my childhood.”
“Well, there were many scenes like that.”
“At that time, you were such a brat, honestly, it was a bit annoying.”
“What?”
Park Jung-woo, who had been avoiding Seo-yeon’s gaze, quickly turned to look at her at those words.
He had no idea that Seo-yeon had been thinking that way back then.
Young Park Jung-woo was indeed an arrogant kid, but still, he was the senior!
As he turned, he saw Seo-yeon’s pale face in front of him.
Her crescent-shaped eyes and the sunset-colored pupils visible between them.
The soft curve of her lips.
As Seo-yeon’s face came closer, Park Jung-woo froze.
“Just kidding.”
With the sound of a shutter click, Seo-yeon took a few steps back.
With a mischievous smile on her lips, the frozen Park Jung-woo couldn’t say a word and just stammered.
Seo-yeon waved her hand in front of Park Jung-woo’s face a couple of times, then gave a thumbs up to the director.
“How was it, Director? Did it come out well?”
“Of course, of course! It’s the best. Let’s keep shooting like this!!”
The director’s excited voice could be heard.
Then, Seo-yeon elbowed the still-frozen Park Jung-woo in the side.
“Senior, stop joking around.”
“Ah, no. What was that? Yeah, right.”
As their interactions appeared one by one in the video, the viewers also started to come to their senses.
Who?
No, who is that?
Joo Seo-yeon?
For real?
Her smile is different.
Our Joo Seo-yeon doesn’t cover her mouth with her sleeve when she laughs.
Does Joo Seo-yeon even laugh?
Wait??? Is that really Joo Seo-yeon????
Yeah, it’s her;;;
Such comments poured in through the chat.
Although it was a making video, it felt like a scene from a drama.
Actor Park Jung-woo was always a thorough professional during filming.
It was rare to see him so flustered.
– Does Park Jung-woo like Joo Seo-yeon??????
– Nah, I think he was just really flustered.
– Honestly, I’d be flustered too if Joo Seo-yeon did that….
Anyway, the making video was shot perfectly.
Although Park Jung-woo’s flustered expressions were often captured, there were no scenes that were blatant enough to cause a scandal.
Moreover, Seo-yeon’s actions were quite shocking.
“Joo Seo-yeon, please smile there.”
“Like this?”
Her tone was gentle, and her subtle smile was truly breathtakingly beautiful.
If someone had watched “The Moon That Hid the Sun” ten years ago, they might have recalled a memory at that smile.
The smile that young Princess Yeonhwa gave to Seo-il before leaving.
A smile that looked exactly like that.
“Yeah, it’s similar.”
Bong-sik quickly prepared the footage of “The Moon That Hid the Sun” up to episode 3 for review.
He paused the final scene and overlapped it with the current making video.
“It’s totally Princess Yeonhwa.”
The smile of young Princess Yeonhwa and Seo-yeon’s current smile were identical.
Only, she had grown up a bit.
And then, the photo Bong-sik synthesized.
[Memories from the past in Beol’s making video.]
[Princess Yeonhwa Joo Seo-yeon, long-lost memories return to you.]
[The two-faced actor, Joo Seo-yeon! Another image transformation!!]
It immediately started pouring out as news articles.
This was less than 12 hours after the making video was uploaded.
***
– Joo Seo-yeon, you bad gorilla, give back Princess Yeonhwa!!!
-Free Princess Yeonhwa trapped in the body of a vicious headbutting dinosaur!!
-You’re Joo Seo-yeon, not Princess Yeonhwa!!
“…….”
The impact of the making video was huge.
It had been a while since the fan cafe, which had been filled with only bear-like Joo Seo-yeon, saw the elegant Joo Seo-yeon.
Although Seo-yeon was inwardly moved, separately.
“No, I am Princess Yeonhwa, and Princess Yeonhwa is me.”
Seo-yeon felt wronged.
It had become the community’s consensus that Princess Yeonhwa and Joo Seo-yeon were separate entities.
Seo-yeon glanced at the mirror in her room and smiled.
But, indeed, the Princess Yeonhwa version of the smile didn’t come out.
Still, trying to force a Princess Yeonhwa vibe felt like losing somehow.
‘But it doesn’t feel like acting either.’
Hmm, Seo-yeon crossed her arms and thought.
After the making video was released yesterday, Seo-yeon’s house was in an uproar.
Her younger sister, Su-yeon, was seen struggling with something while Seo-yeon was sleeping.
Upon closer look, it seemed she was trying to force Seo-yeon into the Beol outfit from the shoot.
Our sister is quite strong, huh, Seo-yeon thought as she watched.
“……What are you doing?”
“I was wondering if wearing a hanbok changes your personality.”
A hanbok isn’t some symbiote, it can’t do that.
Similarly, when Seo-yeon came out wearing a hanbok, Young-bin seemed to have a fit.
“Hey, is that really my daughter?”
“…….”
Now, there wasn’t even the energy left to burn the chair.
Anyway, the impact was extraordinary, to the point that Jo Seo-hee, who was in Japan, called.
[Seo-yeon, I saw the ad making video, that’s you, right?]
“Yes, it’s me.”
[Ah, no. It’s just that, with Jung-woo senior, the atmosphere was weird, nothing happened, right?]
“We had a knife wind yesterday.”
[Huh? Knife wind?]
Anyway, since Seo-hee was also doing Vtuber work, she knew what a knife wind was.
Separately, the fact that they played such games together, just the two of them.
‘Suspicious, suspicious. I’ll have to interrogate her later. The way Seo-yeon looked in the making video was unusual!’
Park Jung-woo would feel deeply wronged if he heard that.
No, he really was wronged.
Because Jo Seo-hee, who had called Seo-yeon, immediately contacted Park Jung-woo.
“Hey, Joo Seo-yeon and the Princess Yeonhwa in the making video are different people, right?”
[What are you talking about, they’re the same person.]
“…….”
No, they are the same.
But the atmosphere is completely different, right?
Anyway, that Joo Seo-yeon was the same Joo Seo-yeon who had confused Park Jung-woo when they were young.
Well, she’s not much different now…… but when she comes out like that, it’s very embarrassing for Park Jung-woo.
“Hey, hey. Anyway, Newlike contacted me.”
[……Huh? Newlike?]
“Yeah, suddenly they asked me…… how about a modern fusion historical drama? Based on a web novel…….”
[What?!]
At the anger in Jo Seo-hee’s voice, Park Jung-woo flinched.
Jo Seo-hee disliked people close to her getting involved with her family.
Because of her mother’s issues.
There could be all sorts of problems.
‘Sorry, uncle.’
Park Jung-woo sent a small apology.
It was a matter of survival, after all.