[This is what a proper agency looks like]

(A still of the Iam members walking into the practice room without knowing anything)

「Is this lineup of shows the kids are appearing on—from Paldo Man to a drama—for real?

I’m already excited」

⤷Seven members, so seven shows!

⤷So there really was a miracle mathematician at KJ Entertainment

⤷But seriously, that auction lineup is no joke

⤷All three major terrestrial networks’ flagship variety shows jumping in makes no sense

⤷Well, our kids’ buzz has been no joke lately

⤷The kill point is that even education TV jumped in to grab Seo Ryujin lol

Iam’s fandom, Yours, had been in a festival mood back-to-back lately.

That was because of the in-house content KJ Entertainment had recently released through YouTube.

Iam kept appearing on variety programs like Three Kingdoms, and even while they were busy with other schedules like events and ads, they still consistently uploaded their in-house content.

In-house content.

- I’m jealous of Iam fans. It must be nice because you have a lot to watch even during a hiatus

⤷It’s not like ours are being “put away” or anything, but there’s literally nothing to watch since the reality show they filmed at debut

⤷They don’t go on variety shows, they don’t upload on YouTube, the only way to see them is event videos fansite masters filmed

⤷And what pisses me off more is they never miss holding fan signings

⤷If they even held fan signings, that’d be tier 1. I’m about to hit half a year since I last heard anything about ours

⤷lol I see them in the society section, you scrubs

⤷Ah...

Compared to the past, when the channels idols could use to communicate with fans were limited, it was a new culture that formed in the idol scene as ways to communicate with fans through YouTube or social media rapidly increased.

Of course, even though those methods increased, some agencies still didn’t use them and kept managing their idols the old way, saying it cost too much.

But some agencies took that as an opportunity and planned content to show fans, almost like terrestrial variety programs.

And among them, the one famous for making in-house content the best was KJ Entertainment.

- Lately, more agencies have been making their own YouTube channels copying KJ Entertainment

⤷Yeah, idol in-house content pops up on YouTube more than you’d think

⤷This is right. Who actually does nothing during a hiatus these days?

⤷If you’re a successful group, you at least do concerts, but if you’re a small-company idol, you should at least do stuff like this so you get some new fans coming in

⤷For real. I stan a small-company boy group these days, and if you go to prerecordings you always see the same faces so we became best friends. These days I hang out with them so I don’t even run to music shows

⤷But a lot of places copy in-house content, and there’s nothing with quality like Iam

⤷Agreed. You could air this instead of terrestrial variety and it wouldn’t feel weird at all

⤷These days I think Iam’s in-house content is more fun than variety shows

Even though it was a new agency, KJ Entertainment and Iam were famous for uploading lots of high-quality in-house content frequently—more than even big agencies.

Thanks to that, Iam’s in-house content was popular enough that people even said other fandoms came to watch it.

[This charity auction content is a jackpot]

The Iam charity auction content uploaded this time was showing impact on a level that couldn’t even be compared to before.

- Popular idol Iam member Lee Sion challenges acting?

- The Iam syndrome shaking up the broadcast world!

- A history talk with an idol on education TV

- In my hometown, an idol lives! The Japanese member’s shrimp-catching challenge

No wonder.

It had the absurdly genius premise of selling appearance rights for each of Iam’s seven members through an auction system, so not only fans but the general public couldn’t help taking interest.

Even people who originally weren’t interested in idols got interested when they heard someone would appear on a program they enjoyed watching, and fans were simply thrilled they’d get to see Iam members on various programs.

And in that auction content, there were two programs that people’s attention especially poured into.

[Gahyeon is best when she’s rolling]

(A still of Lee Gahyeon kneeling and begging the Paldo Man staff)

⤷Why does it feel like our Gahyeon is always the one getting screwed?

⤷That’s the fate of the oldest...

⤷I thought Paldo Man would go after Lee Sion, but it was so damn funny when they stubbornly only targeted Lee Gahyeon

⤷I got chills when I smiled to myself watching Lee Gahyeon begging the other participant teams to pick her, saying she’d work hard

⤷Is it real that at the end Lee Sion sold Raon? Lee Sion is a legend

⤷Only the one prepared to be shot has the right to shoot!

Paldo Man was a military-experience variety show, famous for suffering so much that along with jungle exploration it was known as a program celebrities avoided.

A lot of people were excited at the fact that Raon—who got sold together at the end by Lee Sion along with Lee Gahyeon, whose “getting picked on” reactions in Iam were especially satisfying—would be participating.

Starting with fans who wanted to see Lee Gahyeon go to the army and suffer, it also felt fresh that Raon would appear, because even when she was active, Raon didn’t really come out on these physical, body-using shows—and now she was a producer.

Of course, there were also lots of people who wanted to see how much of a sleeping-pill broadcast Seo Ryujin would make on the History Journal program, or whether Geum Shinyu would adapt well after going to the jungle.

Or Im Yunkyung, who would be a one-day MC for a children’s program, or Ryu Ayeon, who would be participating in Working Man, a flagship terrestrial variety program—there were plenty of people who wanted to see how they’d do.

But,

[Will Lee Sion leave a humiliation still??]

(A still of one member of a certain female duo screaming while riding in a convertible)

⤷Every time I see that, I can’t watch because I’m embarrassed

⤷(link)

⤷What the hell is this drama? Why is she kicking a soccer ball in the hallway? 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

⤷So we’ve reached a generation that doesn’t know that bad-acting still already

⤷It’s the universal rule that an idol who starts acting makes at least one bad-acting still

Among the results of the charity auction content, what people showed the most interest in was none other than the drama team that grabbed Lee Sion.

- They spent 20 million won?

⤷At that point, shouldn’t they just get an S-rank actor to appear for one episode?

⤷They probably want drama promotion too, but that’s still pricey

⤷It’s also because the jungle exploration team jacked up the price like crazy at the end

⤷But even if Lee Sion is popular, acting is different, isn’t it?

⤷Yeah. If she can’t act, she’s going to get ripped apart. Even if it was a charity auction, it’s 20 million won

The UBS drama team invested the huge sum of 20 million won just to have Lee Sion appear in the drama once.

It was such a big amount that even among fans, people were saying it was too much, and negative reactions were also slowly creeping up.

[Idol going into acting? Stop the bad acting!]

「A member of a popular idol group, Lee Sion, being cast after spending the massive sum of 20 million won has recently made the internet noisy...

Is it really right to patch over an idol’s lacking acting skill with buzz?

Stealing the place rookie actors should stand in, and further lowering a drama’s quality...」

⤷Agreed. Every time an idol appears in a drama these days, it breaks the flow and pisses me off

⤷If she can act, fine, but stop using idols just because you trust their looks

⤷Their looks are only “pretty” when they’re next to other idols. Put them next to actors and the level gets exposed immediately

⤷There’s a reason people say actors are a different class

⤷Doesn’t Lee Sion feel like she’s getting too full of herself? People keep saying she’s good, so now she thinks acting is easy too? She seriously has no limit, she’s running wild

⤷Lee Sion didn’t ask to be picked, the drama team forced it

⤷lol you’re working hard to shield. You really think this isn’t a fixed game? Like drama people would be crazy enough to donate 20 million won just to use Lee Sion once?

As if they’d been waiting, some internet newspapers put out articles that left out the fact that Lee Sion’s drama appearance happened through a charity auction, writing it up as if she was “challenging acting,” which enraged fans.

And since Iam and Lee Sion had been doing so well lately, even the Lee Sion anti groups that had died down and hidden away reappeared, spreading malicious rumors that this charity auction content was a rigged manipulation, and that KJ Entertainment and Lee Sion had pulled strings to get her into a drama.

Of course, most people ignored those articles and knew they were malicious rumors.

But it was also true that among them, people looked at an idol acting—especially appearing as a drama’s female lead role—with suspicious eyes.

So with fans anxious, antis ready to bite and tear, and the general public half curious and half doubtful, amid massive attention, ‘I Kiss Tomorrow You,’ which Lee Sion appeared in, began its first broadcast.

- Can Kim Hyunsuk keep the “never-fails” streak? Green light as Episode 1 breaks 15% ratings!

- Yoo Jinseok’s excellent acting proves why he was Kim Hyunsuk’s pick

- A bold choice: a new UBS Mon–Tue drama where the female lead changes each episode. Can it keep Episode 1’s momentum?

As expected from the combination of Kim Hyunsuk—called the emperor of drama writers—and Yoo Jinseok, the trending actor, it kicked off strong, achieving a high record of an average 15% rating for Episode 1.

And finally, the controversial Episode 2 that aired yesterday.

- The Iam syndrome worked in dramas too! ‘I Kiss Tomorrow You’ breaks 20% ratings, hits a peak of 26%, and sets this year’s highest drama rating record

The UBS drama team hit it big.

***

"Is that her first time acting?"

Film director Bang Junha.

In truth, only one independent film had been made so far, and no proper commercial film had been made yet, so calling Bang Junha a film director about to debut was more accurate.

"Try watching it this time. I’m telling you, it fits perfectly for the script you showed me last time."

Still, with experience working as an assistant director under a famous director, and an independent film receiving good evaluations, Bang Junha had been getting something like an assessment as a “new star of Chungmuro,” but lately, for the past year, there had been a dead end while preparing a new work.

"I’m sorry. That’s not the actress I want."

"Director Bang, your casting has already gone past a year. If the schedule gets pushed again, the investors might make it an issue."

"But no is no."

That was because of the female lead casting for the work being filmed «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» next.

‘There was just no way to find her.’

Maybe standards had risen after working as an assistant director under Director Im Chandong, a master director representing Korea.

All the candidate actresses so far felt like each one was lacking something, so casting still couldn’t be decided.

And in the middle of that, Bang Junha received a message from Jo Changsu, a broadcasting-station drama PD Bang Junha had known for a while, telling Bang Junha to definitely watch Episode 2 of the drama Jo Changsu was directing.

Since Jo Changsu recommended it while knowing about the struggle with female lead casting, it was watched with a “maybe?” mindset, but honestly, expectations weren’t high.

Because the person Jo Changsu recommended wasn’t an actress, but an idol.

‘In film, mess up even one supporting role and the whole thing collapses in an instant. The breathing is different from dramas.’

Film actors, drama actors.

There wasn’t a clear boundary line, but what those two genres demanded from actors was clearly different.

Since the basic density of shooting was different, even actors who acted well in dramas often suffered in films, and if the person was an idol who wasn’t even an actor, there was no way it would satisfy standards that demanded a lot.

But,

"Don’t make me more pissed when I’m already annoyed—just stay quiet."

After seeing Lee Sion’s acting directly in Episode 2, Bang Junha couldn’t hide the shock.

Fundamentally, the drama’s premise itself was interesting.

A romantic comedy drama where a male lead suffering from a fictional illness called variable facial-recognition syndrome—unable to properly recognize people’s faces—falls in love with a female lead who changes every time.

In that process, Yoo Jinseok’s acting, having to act opposite a different partner every time, was excellent, but—

"You’re prickly. Are you a kitten?"

"What? Is she crazy?"

Lee Sion naturally matching Yoo Jinseok was nothing but surprising.

‘How is she that natural?’

That fast speed of entering emotion, and the way Lee Sion acted while sensing, instinctively, how the situation should be understood in this cutscene.

Especially, the timing of taking Yoo Jinseok’s lines was natural to the point it was hard to believe she was a rookie who hadn’t learned acting.

‘Of course, there are still things lacking.’

There was still a lack of strength in pushing emotion all the way through, and as the lines were exchanged, the breathing getting slightly more rushed caught the eye, but that level was a minor issue.

Because—

"Yap!"

SMACK

"Ack!"

"Kyaaak!"

In the highlight of Episode 2, Lee Sion showed such naturally flowing coordination and chemistry that those weaknesses looked trivial, and the acting overflowed with vividness, like it wasn’t acting but a real incident had happened.

The extreme of acting that only the greatest big-name actors could show.

The thought came up that the writer who wrote a script demanding such complicated movement and coordination was insane, but on screen, Lee Sion, Yoo Jinseok, and an unnamed supporting actress seemed to have pulled it off perfectly.

[Why is Lee Sion’s acting so good?]

(A still of Lee Sion using Yoo Jinseok as a shield)

「I thought she wouldn’t be able to act because she’s an idol, but her projection didn’t bother me and her expressions were natural.

And when she’s next to Yoo Jinseok, my eyes actually go to Lee Sion.

That supporting actress could act too, I seriously thought she was going to hit her for real」

⤷???: Where’d all the people who were like “idol acting this, Lee Sion’s so cocky” go?

⤷They’re probably trembling in their rooms reading this post lol

⤷My mom watched Lee Sion act and asked what actress she’d been in before lol. She said she can act and she’s pretty

⤷Yeah, even if you take fan feelings out, she acted well

⤷That 20 million won was worth it. Proved it with this year’s top ratings, right?

⤷Ah, Lee Sion can’t become known in the acting world though

⤷Acting talent stolen by the idol scene

It wasn’t only Bang Junha who felt Lee Sion’s acting was special.

After hurriedly searching for information about Lee Sion online, and seeing everything from news to communities buzzing with posts about her acting, urgency surged.

‘You absolutely can’t let her go!’

Bang Junha’s heart got impatient.

The acting skill Lee Sion showed was certainly excellent, but it was only “for a rookie,” after all.

If it was acting skill alone, there were definitely actresses who could show that level of acting, even if there weren’t many.

But the natural charm Lee Sion showed on screen beyond acting—

And above all,

‘Her face is insane! Why did a mask like that come out of the idol scene!!!’

Even after working with Korea’s popular actresses up to now, and also with promising rookie actresses, no actress came to mind who could replace Lee Sion’s visuals shown in this drama.

Lee Sion had the mask of the ideal world that had only ever been drawn in dreams while preparing the next project.

Tap.

Worry only delays decisions.

Bang Junha lifted a smartphone and pressed the contact for the production’s casting team leader.