Chapter 120
Chapter 120: Movie Star (3)
“Today, the stares from people felt especially intense.”
“Chirp chirp!”
Since Min Yu-ri got out of the car with Chilla, she had been getting a lot more attention than usual.
It was Chilla’s appearance from the trailer video that had caught people’s eyes.
In the comments section of the video, many were curious about Chilla’s identity as a companion of heroes.
Beep—!
At that moment, someone rang the bell at the office.
“Mina?”
The person waving happily from beyond the glass door was none other than Go Mina.
Yoo Ji-han opened the automatic door for her.
“Hello!”
“What brings you here at this time?”
It was 10:31 AM.
There was still more time until the Hero Academy’s training.
“I, um, have a request!”
“Yes?”
“I want to take a picture with Chilla!”
Go Mina, with a very excited face, expressed her wish to take a picture with Chilla.
When Yoo Ji-han looked at Min Yu-ri, she nodded in permission.
“Yay!”
Go Mina let out a happy scream and wrapped her arms around Chilla’s large belly.
It looked just like she was hugging a giant teddy bear.
“Say….”
Chilla had a slightly annoyed expression at the clingy human.
Kim Si-hu took her mobile phone and snapped a picture on her behalf.
After checking the photo, Go Mina beamed widely.
“Thank you!”
“Why do you want to take a picture all of a sudden?”
“I watched the video that was uploaded to ViewTube yesterday! It made me feel like you guys are going to become really famous soon, so I wanted to take a picture to brag to everyone!”
“Wow, you have quite the proactive spirit.”
“Hehe! See you in the classroom later!”
Once her business was done, Go Mina elegantly exited the office.
She really just came to take a photo with Chilla.
Kim Si-hu, who was blankly staring at the door, turned to the other party members and said,
“Wow… the reactions are no joke.”
“Right?”
“I guess I should make a signature too.”
“A signature?”
“Famous heroes have such cool signatures. I don’t have one yet.”
Kim Si-hu sat down at his desk with a sheet of white paper and a pen.
He was absorbed in researching a fancy signature.
“Chilla, don’t make such a displeased face. It’s just people showing love for you.”
“Chirp.”
While Min Yu-ri brushed Chilla’s fur with a comb, Yoo Ji-han fell into silent contemplation.
‘I guess things are going to get hectic for a while.’
Back when he was part of Kim Hyun-tae’s party, he was always busy hiding his identity.
Now, people recognized him and approached him proactively.
Perhaps more bothersome things might arise in the future.
But…
Yoo Ji-han felt like it wasn’t such a bad situation after all.
*
A few days after the trailer was released.
The completed movie was finally made available online.
The viewing fee was $3.
In Korean money, it came to about 3,500 won.
Despite that, it seemed there were quite a number of people paying to watch it.
“I got a request for a signature while heading to the office today!”
Kim Si-hu had done his very first autograph on his way to work.
A citizen outside recognized his face and asked for a signature.
“All that practice paid off, huh?”
“Exactly.”
Kim Si-hu puffed up his chest proudly, feeling accomplished about having created a cool signature.
Yoo Ji-han chuckled and said with a smile, “Seong-tae did a great job with the editing.”
“It turned out better than I expected! Especially Yu-ri Nuna, you looked great on screen.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“Click!”
The movie that Ha Seong-tae had worked on with such enthusiasm was certainly entertaining even for the main characters themselves.
As is typical with movies, there were a few exaggerated parts, but the situations they experienced were accurately captured.
‘I think the tension was conveyed well too.’
The highlight scene of the movie was the moment when a swarm of Bullfrog Monsters soared into the sky from beneath the reservoir.
Ha Seong-tae had intentionally added a slow-motion effect there, making the scene of the blue sky being covered by the monsters keep the viewers on edge.
Even the protagonists present at that moment felt that way.
So, they could expect a good response from others too.
‘Though the ambush scene was cut…’
The scene where they were attacked by the Poison Butterfly organization had to be omitted.
While it was one thing to show people dying, the excessive appearances of Sylph were too much.
——I’ll edit it out for a private release!
Nonetheless, Ha Seong-tae planned to edit that scene as well.
One day, when Yoo Ji-han publicly reveals that he is a Spirit Master, it would be released as a hidden cookie scene online.
“Let’s get going.”
The three who had been sitting in the office got up from their seats.
Min Yu-ri checked the time on her mobile phone and said,
“The department head from the Hero Academy is coming today, right?”
“Yes. To create promotional materials.”
Instead of the regular Hero Academy training, a different schedule was set for the day.
There would be brief interviews or photo sessions with representatives from the Hero Academy and the trainees, to create materials for media distribution.
Since the Hero Academy was a popular subject among the public in the hero support program, extra preparations had been made for this.
With the party receiving various kinds of support, such as office rental and equipment subsidies, it was good to actively cooperate with such events.
Creak!
Yoo Ji-han opened the door to the meeting room designated as the gathering place.
His peers from the same cohort of the Hero Academy were already seated.
“Hey, look over there.”
“They’re here.”
The heroes whispered as they saw Yoo Ji-han’s party enter.
The reactions had been there since the trailer had started gaining views.
Among them, what was most annoying were the sharp glares from Moon Kyung-jin and Min Ju-yong.
‘Getting used to those faces now, huh?’
Their faces were clearly showing their displeasure.
Yoo Ji-han ignored them and moved to an empty seat.
‘I thought they looked better in the movie.’
‘It’s all just camera tricks, anyway.’
‘Are they better in real life?’
People were comparing their appearances in the film with their real selves.
It felt much like watching a celebrity on TV.
Of course, it made sense since the movie had already climbed to the fifth spot in the daily view rankings within just one day of its release.
It was gaining considerable attention globally, even making it into the top 100 rankings in places like Japan and the United States.
“Hello everyone!”
When the time came, the Hero Academy’s department head walked into the meeting room.
After a brief introduction, he called the parties in the pre-decided order.
As seven parties had been called before them,
“Yoo Ji-han’s party! This way, please.”
It was now the eighth turn for Yoo Ji-han’s party.
They moved alongside the department head to the adjacent space.
The area was set up with several cameras and tripods for filming.
Standing in front of the cameras, the department head said to Yoo Ji-han,
“It’s great to meet you!”
“We’re glad to meet you too.”
“! You’re the main characters from that hot topic, right?”
“Haha….”
As the movie’s title came up right from the start, Yoo Ji-han forced a smile.
He had somewhat expected that the conversation would flow like this.
“I watched the movie that was released just yesterday and found it really enjoyable.”
“Thank you.”
“As the head of the Hero Academy, I’m really happy to be alongside such wonderful heroes like you.”
Yoo Ji-han’s party began with simple self-introductions, lifting the mood as they engaged in a Q&A with the department head.
“How did you come to make the movie?”
“It was recommended by Director Ha Seong-tae and Instructor Jin Seok-woo who I have ties with….”
“I found it really interesting to catch the monsters with fishing rods. How did that idea come about?”
“It happened back when I was in another guild….”
While the department head received simple and ordinary questions from the other parties he had met earlier, Yoo Ji-han’s party got more questions related to the movie due to its positive reception.
“Many people have said they enjoyed the movie and are already looking forward to your next project. Is there a follow-up planned?”
“Um… we don’t really have any plans at the moment. Making this film was quite coincidental.”
Yoo Ji-han kept quiet about the next project.
However, Ha Seong-tae had been mentioning a follow-up since the reaction on ViewTube had been good.
There were even suggestions to plan the film as a series.
While Yoo Ji-han didn’t give a definite answer, he did express that he would consider it positively.
“Kim Si-hu, why do you always wear a hat?”
“Oh, that’s….”
“Is there a special reason? Like some equipment with special effects?”
Kim Si-hu hesitated at the question for a moment.
What was hidden beneath that ordinary beanie was, after all, his identity.
With the party’s name spreading quickly,
Was revealing his identity the right choice at this point?
“…I simply like wearing hats. I find it much more comfortable to keep it on than to take it off.”
In the end, Kim Si-hu concealed his identity.
He felt it wasn’t the right time yet.
The department head continued asking other questions.
“I would like to ask you for one thing.”
“What is it?”
“We’ll be producing a promotional video for the Hero Academy soon, and I want to include some scenes from that movie! Of course, we will compensate you fairly for the use.”
“…!”
The Hero Academy produces a promotional video every quarter.
That means they create a total of four official videos in a year.
Having the face of a specific party included in that means…
At that point, it would signify that they have become the face of the Hero Academy.
‘So this is how it connects?’
The fact that filming a movie could help the party in this way was unexpected.
After a short discussion with his companions, Yoo Ji-han said,
“If we can discuss it with Director Ha Seong-tae, we’ll agree as well.”
“Great!”
*
At 6:30 AM.
Won Yeong-guk, lying in bed, opened his eyes.
He checked the time on the mobile phone beside his head and let out a big yawn.
‘This habit of mine…’
Won Yeong-guk had only recently left the military.
After over a year of waking up early, he had now trained himself to wake up automatically when it was time.
Even though he had been discharged, he couldn’t quite shake off his soldier habits.
‘Yesterday, I had a dream about sleeping in the barracks.’
He often worried that he might wake up back in the military after a night’s sleep.
But now a civilian, he closed his eyes again to go back to sleep.
“……I can’t fall asleep.”
However, his brain, already wide awake, rejected the idea of sleep.
Sitting up abruptly, he grabbed his phone.
He mindlessly started tapping on the screen with his fingers.
Accidentally, he pressed on the photo album.
“Oh.”
The most recent photo was one he took with his military seniors and juniors on his discharge day.
Above that, there were pictures taken during the Goemi incident on Gye-yang Mountain with Yoo Ji-han’s party.
Since the incident on Gye-yang Mountain, Won Yeong-guk had even made a fan café for Yoo Ji-han’s party.
“Though the 회원수 is still small…”
Since the video was released on ViewTube, the fan café’s membership had increased just a little.
Still, it was only Won Yeong-guk who actively participated in the cafe.
“Should I check it for a moment?”
Won Yeong-guk accessed the fan café he had created on his phone.
He hoped there would be more members than yesterday.
“Eh?”
But when he logged into the cafe, his eyes widened in surprise.
When he last checked, there were barely even 10 members, but now…
[Members: 134]
It had surpassed 100 members!
