Byun Juhwa ground his teeth as he remembered the outrageous nonsense Ja Sokhwan had spouted before leaving.

He had been stuck in the editing room until dawn yesterday, but the moment he thought about Director Ja, his eyes snapped wide open again.

“If he comes back one more time, I’m killing him.... Who the hell said we’d flop?”

Yesterday’s broadcast of Episode 4 of 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 had been a success.

With just that single kiss — too embarrassing to even call a real first kiss — Jeon Segye completely malfunctioned.

“I-I was worried you might get a c-c-concussion. That would’ve been serious. Yeah. Worker’s comp procedures are complicated... complicated. Not that I wouldn’t handle it, but....”

Jeon Segye hurriedly backed away from Nam Pyeonghwa, babbling incoherently. Then he abruptly pulled Pyeonghwa to her feet. He even picked up her bag and shoved her out of the office.

“This kind of overtime could legally become grounds for a dispute or something... anyway, you should head home now. Leave the rest to me. An intern and a CEO are different.”

After sending Pyeonghwa away, Segye’s legs gave out. Leaning against the door, he slowly slid down to the floor.

Boing, boing, boing. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Little Segyes popped out one after another.

“It’s your first time!”

Analysis Segye declared.

“A kiss!”

Arrogant Segye shouted.

“I don’t knooow....”

Self-Esteem Segye muttered weakly.

Still sitting there in a daze while touching his lips, Segye’s watch suddenly buzzed.

[Your resting heart rate has exceeded the configured range.]

[Heart rate remained above 120 BPM for 10 minutes.]

[If your elevated heart rate continues, consult a doctor.]

Analysis Segye and Arrogant Segye spoke up at the same time.

“Looks like staying awake this late is putting strain on the body?”

“The watch is obviously broken. Total garbage.”

But Self-Esteem Segye said nothing.

The real Jeon Segye glared at Self-Esteem Segye.

“Heyyy....”

Self-Esteem Segye spoke gloomily.

* * *

Nam Pyeonghwa touched her lips while riding in the taxi. Before she ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) realized it, both cheeks had turned rosy.

—The kind of person who overanalyzes every little thing? Ah, those people are seriously the worst. Exhausting before anything even starts.

At that exact moment, the radio inside the taxi sounded like it was speaking directly to Pyeonghwa.

—People who know how to let insignificant things slide. That’s what makes someone attractive.

Pyeonghwa focused intently.

—Like your hands brushing while walking or some tiny bit of accidental skinship. Or when someone’s just a little nice at work, and the other person immediately starts acting like they’re dating... wow, exhausting. There are truckloads of people sending in stories about getting misunderstood after helping someone out!

The hand touching her lips froze.

Pyeonghwa hurriedly asked the taxi driver,

“E-Excuse me... what radio program is this...?”

“Oh, this? This isn’t radio. I connected Intube.”

“W-What channel is this exactly....”

“This one, right here.”

The taxi stopped at a red light. Kindly lifting the tablet screen for her, the driver carefully read it aloud.

“From Forever Single to Playboy! AtoZ Dating Lecture Channel! Shortened to Mobaji! It’s the best dating Intuber channel out there.”

“Ah....”

“Everything this guy says is true. Absolute truth. If you don’t know it already, you should definitely subscribe.”

Nam Pyeonghwa’s face remained as expressionless as ever.

But she obediently nodded.

Inside the tablet, the self-proclaimed dating expert gave a thumbs-up.

—Overthinking meanings! This is absolute poison for forever singles!

* * *

“He said it was nothing....”

At the same time as the heart rate notification, another message alert appeared on the watch.

[Intern Nam Pyeonghwa: CEO, I’m sorry about what happened earlier. From now on I’ll stay focused on work during overtime and won’t fall asleep^^ I’d appreciate it if you could forget how unprofessional I was today. Please get home safely.]

“....”

A red horizontal line appeared above the message window as the devil’s editing began.

Little Nam Pyeonghwa crossed her arms and reread the message.

[CEO, what happened earlier from now on, hey. Forget it.]

Jeon Segye abruptly jumped to his feet and headed toward his desk to grab his car keys and phone so he could go home—

Crash!

—but he stepped on the fabric still scattered across the floor and fell again.

On the screen of the watch strapped to his wrist, a giant heart was still flashing brightly.

[Heart Rate: 180 BPM]

[Danger!]

As Jeon Segye turned on an Intube Music playlist before driving, the algorithm also recommended “From Forever Single to Playboy! AtoZ Dating Lecture Channel,” otherwise known as “Mobaji.”

—A real man overlooks a woman’s mistakes. Bringing it up over and over again? Man, that kills all affection. It scrapes away even feelings that weren’t there before.

Analysis Segye, Arrogant Segye, Self-Esteem Segye, and the real Segye all turned pale while listening to the lecture.

—If someone apologizes, a real man accepts the apology and treats it like nothing happened.

The screen split in two.

Both people were now lying in bed at home, clutching their phones tightly against their chests.

“It’s been one hour and twenty minutes since I checked the message, so now I need to remove the read notification....”

“Act normal. No, not act — I really am fine, so hurry up and send it.”

“At this rate she’s gonna realize I read it through preview modeee....”

Jeon Segye took a deep breath before replying.

Typing: If I seemed like the type to care about something like that, then that’s a pretty huge misunderstan⎜

Typing: It was just an accident, so I absolutely wouldn’t consider that a first kis⎜

“Wait, that’ll totally give me away.”

“Are you insane? Delete it right now.”

“Idiooot....”

After agonizing over it again and again, Jeon Segye finally managed to send a reply.

Typing: Yes. Intern Nam should get home safely too.

“....”

But no reply came.

The unread “1” still hadn’t disappeared.

On the right side of the split screen, Nam Pyeonghwa was already sleeping soundly.

On the left side, Jeon Segye tossed and turned restlessly, shaking his watch, checking his phone over and over to make sure the message had really sent, unable to fall asleep.

Even in situations like this, Nam Pyeonghwa’s talent continued to shine.

PinkJoo was moved to tears, saying this was exactly the kind of thing she’d wanted to wear. Direct messages flooded in endlessly in real time.

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.

[SoftFluffyPurePink PinkJoo Pajamas Pink]

[SoftFluffyPurePink PinkJoo Pajamas Ivory]

[SoftFluffyPurePink PinkJoo Pajamas Heart]

Orders on B-bly exploded. Order sheets printed nonstop.

While frantically checking the incoming orders, Nam Pyeonghwa paused and stared at the screen.

[This is exactly the kind of pajamas I wanted T_T Thank you so much for making them♥︎]

Nam Pyeonghwa knew absolutely nothing about design.

She didn’t know how to draft patterns, sewing methods, or those endlessly complicated production instruction sheets.

But there was one thing she thought she finally understood.

“What are you doing right now? We have to process these orders! Every single one needs to ship out today!”

“Yes! Sorry!”

She loved making clothes.

Far more than she’d ever expected.

Quietly watching Nam Pyeonghwa from afar, Jeon Segye smiled softly.

B-bly, which had just smashed its all-time sales record amid complete chaos, continued riding the wave upward....

“CEO, I think you need to see this.”

The next day, Daniel pulled out a tablet with a gaunt expression.

Displayed on the screen was L&E’s newest product.

“...A copy?”

It was the PinkJoo pajamas.

The design was extremely similar, but they’d used a famous celebrity and pushed a luxury branding strategy, making it look as though B-bly’s version was the cheap knockoff while theirs was the authentic original.

Episode 4 of 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 fully delivered everything viewers wanted from a fashion drama.

It showcased the process of clothing production while layering in the characters’ passion.

On top of that, Han Yeoreum changed styles so endlessly throughout the episode that it practically became a full-fledged fashion show.

The fitting scenes where she tried on different pajamas were destined to be uploaded as clips and pull in huge view counts.

“And then we add the preview on top of that.”

Director Byeon recalled yesterday’s 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 preview with a satisfied smile.

To defeat L&E for real, Nam Pyeonghwa would begin creating another design, while Jeon Segye subtly supported her and quietly started treating her better little by little.

And the ending would include a slight fake-out.

“D-Don’t you hear something strange?”

“I feel like... someone’s watching us too....”

Another late-night overtime session with just the two of them again.

Surrounded by fear from mysterious sounds and an unexplainable presence, Segye and Pyeonghwa unconsciously ended up holding hands.

“Starting next week, Beopsun will be joining them too.”

As he imagined the two naturally growing closer while co-raising the abandoned dog Beopsun, Director Byeon’s confidence surged once more.

“Oh, right. The ratings should be out by now.”

Before heading to the filming site, Director Byeon picked up his phone and checked his messages.

Scrolling upward through the group chat overflowing with notifications, he saw something impossible.

“...Huh...?”

〈Dear Judge〉 Episode 2 Ratings: 8.7%

〈Tamhok〉 Episode 2 Ratings: 3.7%

〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 Episode 2 Ratings: 12.3%

Hong Suryeon’s 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 had broken into double-digit ratings by only its second episode.

〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 Episode 4 Ratings: 12.1%

“...We got overtaken?”

In an instant, they had lost first place.

The Yoo Jiuk craze from 〈Soft Soft Kindergarten〉 still hadn’t cooled down, and Hong Suryeon’s humiliating-curse acting performance from Episode 1 had plastered itself all over the internet.

* * *

“This is who we are!”

“Alright, alright! Don’t stop! Don’t stop!”

This was Nice Production, the company in charge of promoting 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉. The moment the Episode 2 ratings dropped, they immediately unleashed a flood of articles and viral marketing.

[Yoo Jiuk・Hong Suryeon Achieve “#1 Ratings”... Viewers Smile at Their Sweet Chemistry]

[〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 Hits 12.3% by Episode 2... Pledge Video Upload Receives “Explosion” of Likes]

[The Glamorous Return of the Romcom Queen — Hong Suryeon’s “Trademark” Adorable Smile]

The challenge video promised by the two actors exploded with reactions the moment it was uploaded.

INTUBE

[〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 Breaks 12% Ratings! Yoo Jiuk・Hong Suryeon Sulking Challenge] 00:31

Views 56,773

—This drama is seriously so fun I’m crying TT_TT Please air it 7 days a week

—Yoo Jiuk with his bangs down is seriosly insanely good.. I can only sit here in awe

—Hong Suryeon~ my proud actress♥︎ Please keep giving us lots and lots of lovely performances

—What is this chemistry omg it literally clears my vision

↳ fr my eyesight improved LMAO

—Give us more pledge videos (I’m waiting hehe)

Nice Production carried out a type of promotion never seen before.

It was full-scale immersion marketing.

[HOT/ Apparently the current “trend-awareness genius” account is the Beomhana Yousta.jpgꠕ]

In the drama Hong Suryeon plays a perfumer,

(Hong Suryeon workshop photo.jpg)

so they straight-up created an official Yousta account for the workshop

(Official Yousta photo.jpg)

They even upload stories sometimes like it’s actually being run by Hong Suryeon LOLOL

(I moved in!

Finally opened the workshop><

What’s with the upstairs guy (close friends only).jpg)

They also upload product shots

People can immerse themselves hard as hell so the followers are increasing in real time

—Anonymous 1: Watching this makes me wanna buy perfume too LMAO

—Anonymous 3: Feels like Hong Suryeon would smell sweet.. T_T TwoThree unnie I love you

—Anonymous 8: The whole drama just feels trendy. I knew it the moment Yoo Jiuk started serving both bangs-up and bangs-down looks

↳ Anonymous 15: 222 The whole vibe feels young, even the directing

While 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 collaborated with B-bly, the 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 side partnered with a brand-new perfume company.

Once they established a trendy mood and even launched SNS accounts, viewers became obsessed — and opened their wallets at the same time.

The fragrance viewers imagined from Hong Suryeon’s loveliness practically seeped through the screen.

The same went for Yoo Jiuk, who was playing dual roles.

Every time people saw his face, they alternated between imagining a soft musk scent and a refreshing soap fragrance.

〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 stimulated two of humanity’s senses.

One was the sense of smell that made hearts flutter.

The other was a sixth sense that transcended all five senses entirely.

“Most importantly, we’re still a mystery drama.”

Not only the photos uploaded to SNS, but even the stories that disappeared after twenty-four hours had viewers desperately searching for possible spoilers.

With marketing optimized for maximum emotional immersion, the conditions had been perfected for 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 to never surrender the number one spot.

“We!”

“Until the very end!”

“Are number one!”

Cheers erupted throughout Nice Production.

* * *

“Aahh, it’s finally happening-.”

Manager Ma, the marketing genius of JC ENM, thought about the video scheduled to upload today.

A strategy guaranteed to hook not only viewers of 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉, but the general public as well.

And they had prepared not one, but two of them.

〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 had decided to maximize visual stimulation.

Specifically: memories and places.

Manager Ma thought about the power of culture.

Roots.

To him, that was still the true power of culture.

Han Yeoreum had already once managed to make people willingly travel somewhere they had never even heard of before.

The tourists who flocked to Jinhae proved it statistically.

So what if it was somewhere people had at least heard of once before?

A familiar song playing on the street.

A hashtag spreading across SNS.

To some people, it would revive nostalgia.

To others, it would become a brand-new trend.

INTUBE

[SSS Ryu Risa Reveals Industry Secrets! Dongdaemun Wholesale Tag Brand Breakdown (feat. Ham Yeorin)] 30:27

That place was Dongdaemun.

Now that buying clothes online had become completely normal, Dongdaemun itself could become an entirely new culture and hot place for younger generations who had never experienced it before.

A project where viewers might visit locations from the drama because they became famous—

but also the reverse:

using places that were already famous to awaken viewers’ memories.

That was the path JC ENM chose.

“Go, Ryu Risa.”

* * *

“Holy shit.”

Reporter Wi couldn’t say anything else.

〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 had stolen the #1 ratings spot, but over the three weekend days — Friday, Saturday, and Sunday — 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 completely crushed them in buzz volume.

[Issue Board/ Dongdaemun Wholesale Tags Recommended by Ryu Risa.jpg]

[HOT/ Ryu Risa Outfit Styling Completed with Under 100 Dollars Top and Bottom (feat. Ham Yeorin).jpg]

[OurTown Chatter/ SSS really is different huh even Dongdaemun clothes look  really like department store items]

Once you combined Ryu Risa, Ham Yeorin, and Dongdaemun wholesale tags together, there was no way people wouldn’t pay attention.

Ryu Risa’s ability to style even ordinary clothes in a unique way, combined with Ham Yeorin — a fashion icon whose name everyone from that era recognized — being featured in the thumbnail guaranteed skyrocketing views.

INTUBE

▼ Real-Time Trending Videos ▼

[SSS Ryu Risa Reveals Industry Secrets! Dongdaemun Wholesale Tag Brand Breakdown (feat. Ham Yeorin)] 30:27

Views 877,112

Less than a day after upload, the video was already approaching one million views.

It had immediately entered the trending rankings.

And naturally, derivative content exploded afterward.

The moment something becomes a trend, countless creators want to attach themselves to the topic.

INTUBE

[Trying on Dongdaemun Wholesale Tags Recommended by SSS ⎜KimCoordi]

[Han Yeoreum OOTD Inspired by 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉]

[I Went There Myself — Dongdaemun Shopping Disaster vlog]

People recreated Ryu Risa’s 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 styling using Dongdaemun wholesale tags, analyzed the dozens of outfits Han Yeoreum changed through in each episode, and some even traveled directly to Dongdaemun themselves to shop.

The power of cultural content.

Reporter Wi could feel it clearly.

The more people moved beyond simply watching and actively participated in the culture itself, the stronger the work’s influence became.

INTUBE

[Daily Media Melts Down Over Yoo Jiuk and Hong Suryeon’s Chemistry in 〈There Is Only One Culprit〉... ⎜Immersive Reaction]

Views 334,445

〈There Is Only One Culprit〉 was still doing very well on Intube.

Not only the drama clips, but also reaction videos uploaded by Daily Media continued gaining views and comments even now.

‘...But....’

The feeling was different.

The impact felt different.

Manager Hong checked the increased buzz volume accumulated over the weekend and smiled with narrowed eyes.

“Good... the Ryu Risa Dongdaemun content will keep climbing steadily until the drama ends.”

“Orders for the B-bly products are still increasing too.”

It was worth using B-bly’s influencers as chess pieces even before the broadcast started.

To increase both their own view counts and sales from their shops inside B-bly, they personally visited Dongdaemun to film vlogs and decorate their feeds.

The more their vlog views increased, the more people unconsciously became curious about Dongdaemun.

Dongdaemun started appearing in algorithms, which naturally caused people to think about Han Yeoreum from 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 too.

People entered B-bly to buy clothes they saw on their feeds, then while browsing outfits Han Yeoreum supposedly wore, found themselves unconsciously pressing the purchase button.

The dominance of culture exceeded imagination.

The more it seeped into everyday life, the more people watched clips related to 〈Dongdaemun Romance〉.

And among those viewers, plenty would eventually transition from clips to the actual live broadcast.

“Filming’s today, right?”

“Yep. Time to move on to the next one.”

〈Dongdaemun Romance〉 decided to awaken another kind of nostalgia.

Borrowing a Corpse to Revive the Soul

A dead soul revives by borrowing another corpse.