Chapter 185: Casting Vote Boom.
Two weeks flew by.
The contestants who returned from visiting home wore expressions overflowing with satisfaction and ambition.
People who had spent years as aspiring actors—or complete unknowns—had suddenly become members of the nation's Top 12 on a program watched by all of America. The attention and praise they received must have felt intoxicating.
Their families and friends naturally showered them with attention. Strangers recognized them on the street and asked for autographs. The interviews arranged by TW made them feel, if only for a moment, like they were the center of the world.
I don't want this to end here. I want to go even higher.
It was only natural to feel that way.
As a result, when everyone gathered again a week before the live broadcast for the announcement of the finalists, the atmosphere was far more tense than before.
"Hello, everyone! I hope you survived two weeks of friends and relatives begging you to get Jerry High's autograph."
The contestants all struggled to suppress their laughter.
They had certainly been asked for autographs from Derek, Natalie, Yu Myeong, and the other contestants...
But nobody had asked for Jerry's.
It wasn't exactly something they could say out loud.
"All right! Since this part will be attached to last week's broadcast anyway, let's not drag it out. Time to announce the finalists!"
Dum dum dum dum...
The suspenseful music built until it became impossible to distinguish it from the pounding of their own hearts.
Then the names were announced, one by one.
"Yu Myeong Shin! Antoine Monie! Selina Benson! Marta Garcia! Priya Rockheart! Kai Nunen!"
Cheers erupted with every name that was called.
When Kai's name came last, his eyes grew so wide they looked ready to pop out.
"Kai tied with Lucas from Group Two. We ultimately chose you because of the remarkable improvement you've shown in such a short time. Keep working hard."
"Yes, sir!"
Kai shot to his feet and answered so loudly that his voice echoed through the studio.
The judges smiled warmly.
"Congratulations to all of our finalists!"
Three contestants advanced from the group directed by Hugo.
Two—Antoine and Kai—from George's group.
And from the remaining group, the only contestant with prior professional experience, Selina Benson.
The fourth group produced no finalists at all.
The truly astonishing result, however, was that Yu Myeong's team had once again achieved a perfect sweep.
He really is... incredible.
Natalie watched Yu Myeong thoughtfully.
The performance itself had been excellent enough to justify the outcome.
Even so, the fact that he had twice led every member of his team through a group challenge and earned them all a free pass felt almost like cheating.
As someone whose own desire to become a better actor rivaled anyone's, she found herself once again wishing she could work with him someday.
With that, the finalist announcement came to an end.
Those who had been eliminated quietly rose from their seats and headed toward the interview room.
The six remaining contestants stayed onstage to receive instructions for the live broadcast.
"You've all done well so far.
"But live television is different. Completely different."
Jerry, a veteran of countless live broadcasts, deliberately tried to unsettle them.
"You won't have someone forcing you to stay focused like we've done until now. The final qualifying challenge did have a real audience, but that was still much closer to filming a proper stage performance.
"A live broadcast is exactly what it sounds like.
"It's raw television."
No one spoke.
"Unexpected things can happen. For example, someone might be such a fan of one actor that they actually boo another contestant during their performance."
"...!"
"If something like that happens, you'll need the mental strength to carry on as though nothing happened."
After letting that warning sink in, Jerry revealed the first live mission.
"The first live broadcast will be divided into two halves.
"For the first half, we'll give you an impromptu assignment right there on stage. Just improvise your way through it. Simple, right?"
"Boooo..."
The contestants responded with playful groans.
"And now, the second assignment—the one you'll have an entire week to prepare..."
The second challenge was revealed.
One contestant's eyes immediately lit up.
March 13 — Episode 12
Yu Myeong effortlessly completed the assignment Derek had given him. Footage of Yu Myeong's conversation with Hyo Jun at the dormitory aired, accelerating the already deteriorating public opinion surrounding Hyo Jun.
March 20 — Episode 14
The Action School graduation performance.
Yu Myeong elevated his performance in The Murder Case of the Kingdom of Arizade to a level viewers had thought impossible, causing ratings to surge once again.
Hyo Jun's supporting role performance, followed by his voluntary withdrawal, earned him considerable public sympathy.
March 23 — Episode 15
Director Hugo, whose directing style was unlike anything audiences had seen before, made his debut.
Even after witnessing Yu Myeong's outstanding performance, Hugo continued demanding more, more, and more, and his almost sadistic directing style became a major talking point.
Priya's struggle to portray evil—and her sudden transformation for reasons no one understood—greatly heightened anticipation.
March 27 — Episode 16
Audiences were left speechless when Pandora finally revealed its true form.
Once again, an explosive wave of enthusiasm surrounded the actor Yu Myeong.
Countless actors posted that they wanted to work with him someday.
Messages declaring that "Casting Boat is unbelievably good these days" flooded social media every minute of every day.
George's gangster production, Important Person, also became a major topic of discussion.
Two episodes packed with memorable moments every single week.
Then, just before the live broadcast, contestant interviews began pouring out.
Finally, Derek's appearance on a talk show added even more fuel to the fire.
Antoine, who had earned the nickname Casting Boat's Gentleman, gave a magazine interview.
"Director Hugo? He's a fascinating person. Haha. Yes... I went through a lot myself. While directing me, he'd constantly say things like, 'You're too human,' or, 'Walk like a dead person who's somehow still moving.' He always gave these bizarre instructions..."
"I'd actually met Yu Myeong before Casting Boat. During his travels, he once visited our theater company in France. He performed a play called Mumu there. The shock... the emotion... it's honestly impossible to describe. I know some people suspect television somehow enhances his performances, but the truth is exactly the opposite. Seeing him in person is far more overwhelming."
Then came Derek's astonishing statement—
A man famous for never showing even the slightest humility when it came to acting.
"The way he approaches acting. His passion. His concentration. His immersion. Even the obsessive fixation on acting that borders on compulsion.
I believe he's an actor who falls short of me, Derek McCurdy, in none of those things."
Derek's fans exploded with excitement, saying they had never seen him praise another actor like that before.
Many even released public statements declaring that they, too, were supporting Yu Myeong.
Applications for tickets to the live broadcast shattered previous records day after day.
As the broadcast approached, public interest only continued to grow.
If you happened to eat at a restaurant and simply listened to the conversations around you, there was almost guaranteed to be at least one table discussing Casting Boat.
It had become nothing short of a national phenomenon.
If America's reaction was explosive...
Then Korea's response hardly needed describing.
And if Korea's enthusiasm was overwhelming...
Then there was no need to explain the reaction of the God Named fan community.
Broadcast episodes.
Yu Myeong reaction clips.
Interviews.
Posts from celebrities talking about Yu Myeong.
News articles and international reactions to the show.
His fans were living through the happiest frenzy imaginable.
Post #1048268 — [Entertainment Studies] America is importing Entertainment Studies?
Did you all see the news?
TW has officially proposed licensing Entertainment Studies from KBK.
Is this actually real?
A Korean drama getting exported to America instead of China or Japan?
Honestly, I kind of expected it after seeing Yu Myeong imitate Bohyeongyangje's expression.
The moment people realized it came from a drama character, I figured exporting Entertainment Studies would only be a matter of time...
Does this mean Bohyeongyangje is about to belong to the whole world...?
I'm happy.
So why do I feel a little sad too?
└ I know exactly what you mean. Deep down we're still happy, though...
└ Won't they import Ballerina High and Late Goryeo, Early Joseon too?
└ Wow... I'm a huge fan of Yoon Han Seong too. If Late Goryeo, Early Joseon goes overseas, maybe he'll make it into Hollywood!
└ Please let this become successful enough for Entertainment Studies Season 2...
News that Yu Myeong's previous works were receiving renewed attention filled fans with both joy... and a strange sense of loss.
Post #1048632 — [Casting Boat] Vogue... Vogue...
I'm dead. x_x
I watched Pandora today and I'm still recovering.
Now that Pandora is getting a Vogue fashion spread...
I subscribed immediately.
International shipping is probably going to take forever, isn't it?
I don't even care.
Please leave me alone while I enjoy this happiness.
└ Vogue... My favorite actor is becoming a Vogue cover model... If this is a dream, please never wake me up.
└ Shouldn't we all be thanking Vogue? They're publishing Yu Myeong!
└ No, we're the ones who should be grateful. They're publishing Yu Myeong!
└ Wait... are you all saying this before seeing the President's newest post?
└ What?! I'm going!! ┏('ロ';)┛
Fans practically made themselves sick anticipating every new piece of news.
Then, on the night Pandora was released, a new announcement appeared that shook the entire God Named community.
Post #1048649 — [Notice] Pandora Review (Video Included + Comment Event)
Hello, everyone. It's the administrator.
I suppose I should finally confess...
I actually had the opportunity to attend Pandora.
(I wasn't given special treatment. As the person who established our staff's "no special privileges" policy, I genuinely had no idea beforehand. I only learned about the opportunity the day before the performance, after arriving in America.)
I seriously considered refusing for the sake of fairness.
But I decided it would be better for the community if I attended on everyone's behalf and brought back as much material as possible.
(Of course... I also desperately wanted to see it myself. I'm sorry.)
Enough excuses.
Here's what's included.
File 1: Since photography inside the theater wasn't allowed, I wrote an extremely detailed report describing everything television couldn't show about the atmosphere.
File 2: A collection of photos taken from a distance as the actors entered the theater. (Permission was obtained from management.)
File 3: ...By some unbelievable miracle, I actually got to meet Yu Myeong after the performance. T_T
He was still wearing Pandora's costume.
The moment I saw him, I honestly thought I was going blind.
I've attached a greeting video that Yu Myeong recorded for God Named.
I hope everyone enjoys it... (sniff)
I'll continue trying to bring back as much exclusive material as I can.
Please forgive me for getting to see it first.
When the Vogue issue is released, I'll do my best to purchase as many copies as possible. Leave the word "Entry" in the comments below, and I'll randomly select winners to receive copies shipped to Korea! (Sponsored by Good Enter.)
Attachments: 1.hwp / 2.zip / 3.zip
└ Forgive you?! I'm crying over the President's boundless generosity. I'm downloading everything right now and my hands are shaking. Entry!
└ The President would never act out of selfishness. You went for all of us. Thank you!! Entry!!
└ I watched File 3 first... I think I'm dying. Is American air magical? He somehow became even more handsome... Entry.
└ EntryEntryEntryEntryEntryEntryEntryEntryEntryEntry!!
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...
The excitement surrounding the live broadcast continued to build.
The live broadcasts were held on odd numbered episodes.
Friday evening.
One by one, the lucky audience members who had won tickets for this special stage began arriving at the television studio.
"Tickets, please!"
"Sir... that's not a real ticket. You can't come in with that."
Today's live stage had been built by transforming TW's main studio.
Because this was an acting competition rather than a singing contest, it simply wasn't possible to accommodate enormous audiences.
One thousand people had been invited.
It wasn't an especially large crowd.
But for actors trying to captivate an audience through performance alone...
It was more than enough to feel overwhelming.
The contestants underwent sound checks while wearing tiny flesh colored headset microphones attached almost invisibly to their cheeks.
"Ah... Ah..."
"Perfect. Yu Myeong, your projection is excellent. We won't need to raise your volume much. We'll lock these settings."
"Thank you."
Moments before the live broadcast, every member of the production staff was on edge.
They had to manage the audience, coordinate the broadcast in real time, and seamlessly insert prepared footage throughout the show.
One mistake...
And it would become a live broadcasting accident.
The stage faced a thousand seats.
Centered directly before it stood the judges' table.
Its design was far more restrained than that of a typical audition program, emphasizing that this was an acting stage rather than a flashy entertainment show.
Yet mounted in front of each judge sat an electronic scoreboard, making it impossible to forget that this was still a competition.
Sound check.
Lighting check.
Costume and makeup check.
Final rehearsal.
Everything was finished.
Now...
The audience began to enter.