I Want to Be a VTuber-Chapter 286: Log-Type Actor (2)
[Kyungsung Lady Sparks a Box Office Sensation in Japan!]
*[What is Kyungsung Lady, the Film Taking Japan by Storm?]
[Kyungsung Lady Tops Japan's Trending List, Poised to Dominate Theaters!]
Opening day audience: 124,000 tickets sold.
The number sent shockwaves through the Korean media industry.
Kyungsung Lady had already been making headlines in Korea—
But no one expected it to explode overseas like this.
"Does anyone here know any of the actors from Kyungsung Lady?"
"One of my cousin’s coworkers was on the production team. Should I reach out?"
"Of course! Why are you even asking? Hurry up and call them!!"
Naturally, every broadcasting station rushed to produce special segments on Kyungsung Lady.
YouTube channels scrambled to put together reaction videos.
Journalists tracked down actors and crew members for interviews.
It was that big of a deal.
— Is 124,000 tickets on opening day a lot for Japan?
— Not just a lot. It’s literally #1 at the Japanese box office right now.
— ???
— Wait, seriously?
— LMAO WHAT?! A KOREAN FILM IS #1 IN JAPAN?
— Well, to be fair, Japan did provide some production support.
— Nah, let’s be real, 80% of this is because of Ju Seoyeon.
The Power of One Actress.
Some might say it was just Ju Seoyeon’s influence—
But the buzz she had stirred up in Japan before the film even premiered was insane.
The First Love Moment Connection.
Ju Seoyeon had made a cameo in First Love Moment, a drama directed by Japan’s legendary filmmaker, Kakeba Hiro.
In Korea, it was just another guest appearance.
In Japan?
A national event.
When First Love Moment aired, it hit 32% peak viewership—
The second highest rating of the Reiwa era.
At the time of filming, it wasn’t that popular yet.
But now?
It was a cultural phenomenon.
That’s why YHJ Broadcasting confidently showed the drama to Asher Baldwin.
A TV drama breaking 32% ratings was extremely rare in Japan.
And Ju Seoyeon?
She had directly contributed to its success.
One cameo appearance—
Yet she had gone viral.
Then, Asher Baldwin himself fanned the flames:
"I really liked the actress from First Love Moment. I’d love to work with her, but... what a shame."
He dropped that bomb at a public event.
Of course, Japanese fans raged at him—
But at the same time, the drama skyrocketed in popularity.
The ripple effect was massive.
— First time watching a Korean movie, and wow, the actresses are all gorgeous.
— Soyon-chan was SO cool.
— Honestly, when I saw her on variety shows, I thought she was just another pretty face.
— Her acting was insane, especially her scene with Stella-chan.
— THAT SCENE WWWWW IT WAS SO INTENSE WWWWW
The timing couldn’t have been better.
It was the end of the year.
Not many major films were releasing in Japan—
Meaning Kyungsung Lady had minimal competition.
— LMAO they dodged all the big films and slipped into the schedule.
— Korea always pushes their movies and idols with government funding smh.
— If it was bad, it wouldn’t be doing this well.
— People only go to theaters these days if the movie is actually good. That says it all.
Of course, there were haters.
But even with backlash, audience numbers kept growing.
Surprisingly, the first day wasn’t even the peak.
On the weekend, the film sold 140,000 tickets—
more than opening day.
And a major factor in this?
The documentary.
Kyungsung Lady’s Nettrix documentary had generated insane hype.
Of course, a lot of it came from memes.
— Wait, Koreans make soup out of dotdom fish???
— Korean fishing forums are furious right now LMAO
— Japanese fishing forums are freaking out too.
— Soyon-chan... the anime protagonist... How did she RIDE A BEAR?
— That dotdom must’ve been over 100kg...
— Wait, so she THREW a 100kg fish by herself?
— She’s literally an overpowered anime character.
— Bro, she slapped a bear in the documentary. Is that okay?!
Ju Seoyeon: A Living Legend.
The documentary framed her as an enigma—
She had the most screen time.
And yet—
She never directly gave an interview.
At least, not in Part 1.
Instead, the camera never left her.
Her insane variety show moments were captured in full detail.
And then, there was the bear-riding scene with Goto Reika.
Fans loved it.
— I used to think Reika-chan was just a boring rich girl character.
— You clearly never watched variety shows. She was the one who asked to ride the bear first.
— Completely insane WWWWW
— At least she became friends with Soyon-chan in the end lol.
Part 1: Light Interviews.
A behind-the-scenes look at the cast and production.
Part 2: The Real Deal.
Actual film footage.
It had potential spoilers—
So it was scheduled for release a week after the film premiered.
"Reika-chan, did you really ride a bear in the documentary?"
"Yes, I asked for it myself."
"That’s incredible! Weren’t you scared?"
"It was fine. Soyon-chan was holding me steady."
"...Wait, what?"
Even Japanese networks scrambled to cover Kyungsung Lady’s success.
They rushed to schedule live broadcasts—
Inviting Reika as a guest to discuss the film.
"And after that, you went straight to the film set, right?"
"Yes."
"How was the filming in Korea?"
"It was incredible."
At the time, Reika had barely spoken during filming—
She was too overwhelmed.
Instead, she had watched from the sidelines—
Seeing Stella and Ju Seoyeon act up close.
"They were all incredible."
Before, during First Love Moment, Reika had felt only jealousy toward Seoyeon.
Confused.
Frustrated.
As the protagonist, she had been completely crushed by Seoyeon’s acting.
But watching her on set in Korea—
She finally understood why Narumi Sora had flown all the way there.
For the first time, she thought—
"I want to act like that, too."
As Reika reminisced, edited clips from the documentary played.
Scenes that hadn’t been in the trailer.
"Kasugayama Yuina, is it?"
"An auction has its own rules. If you’re only familiar with stealing from others, it’s no wonder you wouldn’t understand."
"You talk too much."
"Merchants must talk. But I suppose the Kasugayama family doesn’t even know proper noble etiquette."
"Isn’t excessive explanation an undesirable trait for a merchant?"
"That’s not for you to decide. It’s up to our esteemed guests."
Even though Stella was just a cameo, her presence was overwhelming.
A long take of Seoyeon saving Yeon Seonye.
No background music.
Just pure tension.
The documentary panelists were silent.
Completely absorbed.
Finally, the footage shifted—
To Yeon Seonye and Michiko’s conversation.
And just as the tension peaked—
"Oh, right. This is a documentary."
"I got completely immersed."
"Wait, what happens next?"
"You’ll have to watch the movie."
"Ah, right, right."
"Hara-san, you can’t watch the whole film for free here."
The chat exploded.
— WATCH THIS SCENE.
— I cried.
— This scene alone makes the whole movie worth it.
No one could forget it.
The passion of two girls—
And the performances that had shaken an entire country.
And then—
The kiss.
"My lady, you must have been born with it... How else could you be this perfect?"
The moment it appeared on screen, the entire theater let out a soft, collective gasp.
It wasn’t explicit.
There was no nudity.
Yet—
Some covered their eyes.
Some held their breath.
Because no one had expected a scene like this in a Korean film.
— That was way too intense.
— No nudity, but the whole film’s atmosphere is so decadent.
— Wait, does this movie have action too? The documentary showed some fight scenes.
— Not a lot, but there’s a fight at the auction house. And the final battle with the scary guy.
— The voice acting in the dub was incredible.
Part 1: A light, behind-the-scenes documentary.
Part 2: A deep dive into the film’s most powerful scenes.
With both parts airing back-to-back, Kyungsung Lady dominated the Japanese box office for two weeks straight.
A Historic First for Korean Cinema.
Never before had a Korean film held the top spot for two consecutive weeks in Japan.
A landmark achievement.
And the actress who made it happen?
Ju Seoyeon.
Where was she?
"Uh, hey... Seoyeon?"
"You and Jiyeon don’t walk to school together anymore?"
"Wait... did you actually steal— No, never mind."
"......."
At school, Ju Seoyeon was now a subject of extreme speculation.
****
"Lee Jiyeon and I will handle the promotions in Korea for now. Seoyeon, have you received any separate offers?"
"No."
A fast-food restaurant in front of the school.
It had been a while since Jo Sehee and Seoyeon met one-on-one.
Lee Jiyeon had been busy lately with the promotions for Kyungsung Lady.
Her performance had garnered considerable attention, and as the lead actress, she had been occupied with various promotional activities.
More than anything, it seemed that variety shows were eager to have her as a guest.
"Hmm, and no one contacted you?"
"I have other shoots scheduled."
"I'm in that shoot too."
"Didn't you stop showing up for a while because you were busy?"
Seoyeon absentmindedly picked at her burger.
Watching her, Jo Sehee silently wondered.
‘Why is she sulking?’
Keeping a composed face, she sipped her soda through a straw, trying to appear unbothered, but her heart pounded.
Had she done something wrong without realizing it?
Suddenly, an odd sense of crisis crept into their friendly conversation.
‘Hmph.’
And just as Jo Sehee feared, Seoyeon was glaring at her for no particular reason.
Not that Sehee had actually done anything wrong.
It wasn’t because Sehee had ridden her bicycle to meet Jiyeon.
Nor because she had given Jiyeon a lift and disappeared with her.
And it definitely wasn’t because people started whispering about it afterward!
Since Seoyeon had no one to eat lunch with, she had recently been eating with Gil Dahyun.
Well, the class president had become quite familiar, so it wasn’t bad.
But lately, there had been an odd atmosphere lingering in class.
‘Why the hell did she have to give her a ride on a bicycle?’
Where had the Benz she used to ride around in gone?
Or why not just take a taxi?
If she asked that—
"I'm working out these days. Carrying Lee Jiyeon on the way there is good exercise, don’t you think?"
With such enthusiasm, she had pedaled off with Jiyeon, leaving Seoyeon behind.
And Seoyeon's feelings at that moment...
After the rumors spread around school, even Jiyeon had been avoiding her.
Not because she disliked Seoyeon, but because she was embarrassed.
It was the first time Seoyeon had seen Jiyeon flustered like that, and she thought it was kind of cute.
But still, the fact that Jo Sehee remained completely unbothered felt unfair.
Shouldn’t it be normal to feel embarrassed after filming a kiss scene?
She had casually brought it up before, just to test the waters.
"That was just business."
"......."
When Jo Sehee coolly put it that way, there was nothing left to say.
She truly was an actress through and through, unfazed by such things.
Recalling that moment, Seoyeon sucked on her now-empty soda, watching Jo Sehee, who was anxiously gauging her reaction.
"Thick-skinned."
"Why—why are you saying that all of a sudden?"
"Hmph."
At Seoyeon’s sulky response, Jo Sehee grew tense.
She had the nagging feeling she had seriously messed up somewhere.
"Uh, anyway, we'll handle the promotions in Korea, but how about you take care of things in Japan? They’ve been asking for a fan meeting."
"Really?"
"Yeah, you probably got a message about it today."
A fan meeting.
Seoyeon thought about it for a moment.
It wouldn’t interfere with her schedule, so it didn’t sound like a bad idea.
With that thought, she gave a slow nod.
Seeing her ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) relaxed reaction, Jo Sehee felt relieved.
‘I’ll schedule it for the weekend.’
That was roughly what she had in mind.
In any case, Seoyeon wasn’t really upset with Jo Sehee.
It was mostly playful.
In a way, this was proof that Seoyeon had grown closer to her.
If it had been before, she wouldn’t have shown any emotion at all.
Back at the agency.
"Oh! Seoyeon, you're here!"
Kang Chanyul, the agency’s CEO, ran out to greet her.
To him, Seoyeon had never looked more beautiful.
"Things are hectic right now. We’re getting calls from everywhere."
Recently, the agency’s phone had been practically overheating.
Since both Seoyeon and Lee Jiyeon were signed under Nova Entertainment, the demand had doubled.
Thanks to that, Kang Chanyul couldn’t stop smiling.
"Feels like we're burning through firewood."
"Huh?"
"With you around, the flames never die out."
And to him, it wasn’t just a joke—it was the truth.
Even when the buzz seemed like it might die down, somehow, more fuel would be thrown into the fire, keeping it roaring.
‘Now this is what you call a firestarter actress.’
Thinking about the latest requests from Japan, he grinned.
This was the first time a Japanese network had reached out this eagerly.
