Chapter 596
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⎮Draft Post (5)
[Anonymous Discussion Board / Saetara said that was originally Hong Suryeon's project, but Han Yeoreum went to Hwang Boseok herself, asked for the script, and took it.]
Everyone knew Hwang Boseok's number one pick was Hong Suryeon, both the public and the industry, so when he suddenly brought in Han Yeoreum everyone was like, "Huh?" lol. Han Yeoreum ruined Hong Suryeon's filmography, so Hong Suryeon absolutely hates her...
“Eeeek! Unniii. Should I wear this dress or that one?”
“Hmm. Our Suryeon looks gorgeous in red... but she's also gorgeous in purple.”
“I'm. Just. Too. Beautiful.”
“Exactly. Your beauty temporarily reduced my vocabulary. That's what happens when you're talking about our Suryeon.”
“Mmm... When you're this beautiful, you destroy personal color theory and the whole ecosystem collapses.... A sinful woman who looks good in everything.... What should I do.... My choices are as wide as Eurasia....”
Even before the premiere schedule had officially been finalized, Hong Suryeon had already called Han Yeoreum personally and shamelessly claimed herself a seat.
“I've decided!”
“Which color?”
“As expected, only black can suppress my radiant aura.... If I sparkle all by myself inside a dark movie theater, that would be a problem. I have no choice but to dress according to the TPO! Kyaa!”
Hong Suryeon was genuinely worried that Han Yeoreum might be so stunned by seeing her in person again that she wouldn't be able to focus.
Because...
“I'm seriously too beautiful....”
For some reason, the woman reflected in today's mirror looked even more breathtaking than usual.
“What if my baby doesn't watch the movie and just stares at me the whole time?”
“I'll make sure to warn Yeoreum properly. Don't worry.”
“As if she'd listen just because you said so.... People are naturally drawn to beauty....”
* * *
⎮Draft Post (5)
[Anonymous Discussion Board / Han Yeoreum's fans stayed completely silent when she was using Eun Baekhap for media play, but the moment a junior copied her they're acting like it's some huge power struggle lol.]
I don't have anything against Han Yeoreum herself, but her fans are so pathetic that they've started making me dislike her...T_T When her popularity was dropping she was the one clinging to senior stars first, and now she's kicking away the ladder haha.
Whenever someone gets famous, reporters always call them "Little So-and-so," "The Next So-and-so," "Second So-and-so." That's literally just what they do. I feel bad for Heo Haena T_T Even Eun Baekhap probably dislikes Han Yeoreum. They weren't even personally close, but she used her and threw her away lol.
“Unniii....”
“Shut your mouth.”
“No... this is actually the moment I have to speak....”
“If it's more nonsense, you're dead.”
“I wasn't going to say you only came because you were worried about Han Yeoreum.... Absolutely not....”
“Fuck!”
“They're asking us to wait a little before entering.... Looks like there's a bit of a delay up front....”
“Ridiculous.”
Sitting inside the van with her arms crossed, Eun Baekhap clicked her tongue in irritation.
“You rushed me over because you said I had to get here early, and this is what I get?”
“W-well... there were certain circumstances.... If I were to kindly explain them to you—”
“Keep your mouth shut. I'm not interested.”
Whatever it was, it obviously involved that little brat.
'Seriously, she's never done anything useful in her life.'
Just as Eun Baekhap was about to think about the brat again, she noticed Hong Suryeon getting out of a nearby van.
“What? Why's she going in already?”
The more showy the event, the stricter the entrance order usually was. Celebrities entered from the least famous to the most famous.
The early section consisted of rookie actors, lesser-known celebrities, production staff, and supporting cast members.
The middle section was for veteran actors, famous supporting actors, and moderately well-known entertainers.
The latter section belonged to close friends of the lead actors, legendary film figures, and top-tier stars with enormous buzz.
And finally, the grand finale.
The director and the lead actors.
“Ah, Unni! They're asking us to get ready now too....”
“Why am I going in already? Are they kidding me? I'm Eun Baekhap. Who exactly is coming after me that they dare put me before them?”
“Apparently today's event is being organized according to how close people are to the lead actor....”
The annoyance in Eun Baekhap's eyes softened slightly. JC had almost insulted her by placing someone of her stature near the beginning, but at least there was supposedly a reason.
“What kind of idiotic standard is that.... And why is that brat the lead actor? Get your facts straight. She's just a supporting actress here.”
“But you're smiling....”
Before her manager could even open the van door, Eun Baekhap pushed it open herself and stepped outside.
'Wait, if it's based on personal relationships, then why the hell is that bitch ahead of me?'
Her brow furrowed once again.
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⎮Draft Post (5)
[HOT / Baby Morning Bread getting great reactions at today's 〈Faster Than the Law 3〉 premiere.jpg]
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Seriously, I've never seen an influencer whose press photos never flop lol.
(Image)
The soft beige color fits Baby Morning Bread perfectly.
(Image)
She's so adorable awkwardly posing like a rookie T_T
Naturally, Heo Haena believed today's early spotlight would belong entirely to her.
'There's nobody on the attendee list who can compare to me!'
Leaving the supporting cast aside, there wasn't a single rookie actor who could currently rival Heo Haena.
'Sorry in advance, but... So Dami doesn't even have another project lined up, and her agency is tiny. Tsk, what a shame.... And Choo Gaeul doesn't have another project either. Sure, she's been posting on Yousta lately, but so what.'
Among everyone around her age, none of them really stood out.
'Influencers... they're lucky if their real faces don't get roasted after showing up. I feel a little bad for them, but that's just how it is.'
Heo Haena's scheduled entrance was right at the end of the opening segment and the beginning of the middle one.
Exactly where she belonged.
She was the most talked-about rookie.
“Unni, I'm so nervous.... Waaah....”
“It's okay, Haena. You look beautiful today. Why are you so nervous?”
“You're the only one who thinks that, aren't you?”
“Tsk! Want me to scold you? You seriously need more confidence.”
Looking at the staff who genuinely cherished and loved her, Heo Haena felt herself regain confidence.
'That's right.'
She imagined herself later, positioned near the latter half of the premiere.
A life where not only the public, but even the biggest names in the entertainment industry treasured her, adored her, and treated her like something so precious it might shatter if held too tightly or blow away if breathed on.
'Myeong Jeha is coming today too. Maybe I'll go talk to him.... Ask him about breaking into the U.S. market.... And if I explain that I wasn't the one who came up with that nickname and ask him to put in a good word with Han Yeoreum, he'll probably think I'm cute.'
As the corners of her lips unconsciously lifted—
She noticed something strange.
“Unni... don't you hear something weird?”
Somewhere nearby, people sounded like they were groaning.
* * *
Reporter Maeng recalled the headlines he had prepared in advance.
“Suryeon! Please make a finger heart!”
“Nopeee!”
“Huh?”
“You're gonna ask me to wink too anyway....”
“Ahhhh—”
⎮Draft Post (5)
[Anonymous Discussion Board / Saetara said that was originally Hong Suryeon's project, but Han Yeoreum went to Hwang Boseok herself, asked for the script, and took it.]
'Why is Hong Suryeon here?'
She hadn't been on the attendee list he'd received earlier.
As Hong Suryeon showered the gathered reporters and spectators with endless adorable gestures, anguished cries erupted everywhere.
“Kyaaa!”
“Aaaahhh....”
After blowing a kiss from her palm, several people actually collapsed.
“Well then, I'll be going now?”
“N-no! Please... just a little longer!”
“Too bad, but it can't be helped~”
If someone combined supreme photogenic charm with perfect crowd control, it would probably look exactly like this.
Hong Suryeon continued blowing kisses even as she walked away.
Her ability to wrap people around her little finger and play with them was nothing short of divine.
“Everyone has to promise you'll watch the movie lots, okayyy...!”
“I promise! Aaaah! I promise!”
She drove not only the reporters, but even the nearby audience completely crazy.
Several people immediately pulled out their phones and reserved tickets for 〈Faster Than the Law 3〉, which would officially premiere a few days later.
'Why is she here?'
Reporter Maeng followed Hong Suryeon as she left the photo wall and moved toward a short-form magazine interview.
Answering the interviewer's questions, she flashed her trademark smile overflowing with cute charm.
“My baby kept begging me to come watch it before releaseee.”
“Huh? Your baby?”
“She likes me soooo much.”
Reporter Maeng froze.
'Does that bitch seriously have no pride? She got completely crushed in the Holy Grail War, and now she's acting all friendly? Tsk. She has absolutely no professionalism as an actress. That cheap entertainer. Cheap trash!'
The narrative he'd painstakingly prepared had been completely destroyed by Hong Suryeon.
While cursing furiously inside, he suddenly remembered Heo Haena.
'Right! But she hasn't entered ye—'
Just as he hurried toward the photo wall—
He saw it.
Click...
Click...
Half-hearted shutter sounds.
Completely indifferent reactions from both reporters and the public.
And standing awkwardly among them, forcing a smile...
Not the rising actress everyone expected—
Just the complete nobody, Heo Haena.
'Of all times... she had to come right after Hong Suryeon?! Why?!'
⎮Draft Post (5)
[HOT / Baby Morning Bread getting great reactions at today's 〈Faster Than the Law 3〉 premiere.jpg]
There was no way he could post it anymore.
He had to delete the draft.
No one could honestly say the reactions were good, even out of courtesy.
The person before her had possessed such overwhelming presence that everything afterward had disappeared.
It was like watching a chicken wander through the ruins left behind after a dinosaur's rampage.
'Why the hell did that bitch come so early?! If it's Hong Suryeon, she obviously should've arrived near the end!'
While Reporter Maeng silently fumed about entertainers causing trouble—
“Aaaaaahhh!”
The agonized cries echoed once again.
'Now what?'
Next after the completely ignored Heo Haena—
Eun Baekhap was entering.
'Why is she here too?!'
Caught between two of the industry's Three Great Actresses—
Heo Haena was completely crushed.
Without leaving so much as a trace.
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Eun Baekhap had always been quick to read the room.
To remain at the top of this industry for years, you needed insight into how every situation was unfolding.
And Eun Baekhap was undeniably one of the very best.
The instant she saw Heo Haena scheduled before her, she seemed to understand everything within a tenth of a second.
Including the fact that the supposed "friendship-based entrance order" had been a lie.
'Unni really is something.... That look says everyone's dead later....'
No one understood better than Eun Baekhap how important entrance order was at an official event.
There was no way she wouldn't understand the intention behind placing a rookie with no representative work between Hong Suryeon and herself.
'But it couldn't be helped....'
If anyone had suggested this plan to Eun Baekhap beforehand, she would have spent days breathing fire.
"Why the hell should I do that just because it helps that brat? Have you lost your mind? Come here. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
She would have roared, complained, raged, exploded—
Then, one minute before entering, she'd inevitably snap,
"The hell? Didn't you say to move my entrance earlier? Why do you keep changing what you're saying? Make up your damn mind!"
'This is still better than letting things get messy....'
It was completely predictable.
Her pride would never let her agree immediately.
She'd keep thinking about it.
Secretly decide to do it.
Then refuse because agreeing too easily irritated her.
Eun Baekhap was surprisingly difficult—
Yet surprisingly easy—
To handle.
'Still... if only Suryeon Unni had been moved forward... I can't imagine how much she'd have tormented me....'
Her coordinator practically lived with Eun Baekhap balanced in the palm of her hand.
Watching Eun Baekhap smiling brilliantly at the photo wall, it looked as though she'd decided that if she was going to destroy someone—
She'd destroy them completely.
Measured in beauty alone, her combat power was nothing short of supreme.
“Baekhap! Could you please do a finger heart too!!!”
Someone shouted loudly.
Since she'd already done one earlier at another request, Eun Baekhap slowly raised her hands again.
“No! Earlier Suryeon even blew a kiss afterward!!! Could you do it just once too!!!”
Unlike Heo Haena's completely lifeless photo session, this was what a true top star looked like.
Seeing Eun Baekhap at a premiere photo wall was such a rare event that the reporters were overflowing with enthusiasm.
'She won't do it....'
'Eun Baekhap never does things like that....'
'Tsk. She's not Hong Suryeon.'
'That rookie reporter doesn't know anything.'
The veteran reporters inwardly clicked their tongues at the rookie's bold request.
Eun Baekhap didn't even indulge reporters when promoting her own projects.
If she didn't want to do something—
She simply didn't.
As her filmography proved, Eun Baekhap would rather break than bend.
She accepted only the projects she personally wanted.
'Of course she won't.'
But then—
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
“Waaaaaaaah!”
“Huff... huff....”
With a graceful, pure smile—
Eun Baekhap perfectly recreated the magical moment Hong Suryeon had given them only minutes earlier.
She blew a kiss.
Just for that brief instant—
Reporters, spectators—
Even the part-time worker making popcorn far away—
Missed their scoops and screamed.
[(Photo) Eun Baekhap — “Not a Moment to Miss”]
[StarCutCut | Eun Baekhap's Pure Beauty]
[ACT Photo | A Flower Blooming at the Premiere... “I'm Here to Watch 〈Faster Than the Law 3〉” — Eun Baekhap's Sweet and Heart-Stopping Greeting]
Leaving behind a crowd that looked half out of their minds, Eun Baekhap tossed her long hair over her shoulder and walked into the theater.
Standing amid the ruins of a crowd that had collectively become Eun Baekhap fanatics—
Maeng Byeonggwan stood there in complete disbelief.
⎮Draft Post (5)
[Anonymous Discussion Board / They stayed completely silent when Han Yeoreum used Eun Baekhap for media play, but now that a junior copied it they're acting like it's some huge power struggle lol.]
Every article he had prepared—
Had become completely worthless.