Éclat Étoile is launching a new clothing brand.
The name is Argente Camellia.
It’s a clothing line emphasizing luxury and femininity.
The reason why her past life recalls this is that it circulated as an issue in Internet communities for some time.
Of course, there are many aspects that vividly come to her mind, but it wasn’t anything particularly memorable.
‘Probably for sure.’
There were several issues.
The most representative was the durability issue.
It wasn’t just a matter of material; because of the structure of the clothes, rough movements easily damaged the waist area.
Moreover, there was an overlapping issue concerning the actress touted in the advertisement.
It just so happened that the skirt of the dress worn by the actress at the awards ceremony ripped in a catastrophic disaster.
This could be considered as a major event that effectively smashed the image of Argente Camellia.
‘The second is the design.’
If they are emphasizing femininity, then design must be crucial.
Carrying femininity means there needs to be merits that women are willing to endure some discomfort.
However, Argente Camellia didn’t deliver that.
The designer’s overly original sense resulted in a rather bizarre feeling.
To be precise, the design itself was quite pretty, but it was a tough design to coordinate with other clothes.
But to wear only Argente Camellia…
‘Éclat Étoile’s brand value isn’t exactly up to luxury standards.’
It gives off a vague feeling that it’s quite ambiguous to boast about just that one piece.
They say it’s doing quite well in France, but it is undeniably a domestic brand.
While it could be treated as a sort of semi-luxury, it’s still insufficient to complete an outfit solely with it.
Just that kind of brand feeling.
‘Lastly, the price.’
As mentioned, Éclat Étoile is undeniably a brand on the borderline of semi-luxury.
Naturally, the newly launched Argente Camellia was the same.
So the price… it was significantly higher compared to ordinary clothes.
Given this, it was only natural that it became a laughing stock in the communities.
It spread beyond just female-dominated communities and reached male-dominated ones as well.
It gained the image of being a representation of clothing brands with poor cost-performance, and it went bust.
It was an event that struck Éclat Étoile hard enough to shake them significantly.
No, thinking back on not hearing any news from this brand afterward suggests that it might have been the worst…
“What do you think, Seo-yeon?”
Lost in her thoughts, Seo-yeon was snapped out of them by her manager Park Eun-ha’s voice.
“First of all, I want to do it.”
“Really? It’s definitely a good opportunity.”
“But…”
Éclat Étoile was a precious brand that formed the basis of the enormous amount of allowance Seo-yeon has been using lately.
A considerable portion of this was spent on Ramiel’s super chats, so it would be troublesome if it collapsed.
Money earned as an actress was managed directly by Sua.
At least, the money earned from advertisements was somewhat generously allowed to spend.
“I’d like to meet with Éclat Étoile sometime later. I think I need to hear more details.”
“Huh? Alright. Then I’ll arrange a schedule.”
It’s rare for Seo-yeon to speak like this.
Usually, it’s a simple yes or no.
Seo-yeon often wraps things up in such a manner.
‘Is there something about Éclat Étoile?’
It’s only natural to have such a question arise.
Park Eun-ha had tremendous trust in Seo-yeon’s foresight.
Indeed, every production she had appeared in or variety show participated in…
And every advertisement as well had never failed even once.
It would be strange not to trust her.
‘I need to investigate a bit more.’
There must be a reason for Seo-yeon’s hesitation.
First, it seemed essential to ascertain that.
*
– Is today finally Group A????
– Ah, it was long…
– Still, Group C was decent, wasn’t it?
– Half of the four groups are trash.
[Hyper Action Star] Episode 5.
Viewership ratings steadily decreased from episodes 2 to 4, leading to a significant drop in mentions across the community compared to before.
Group A had overly stimulating content, making the auditions from Groups B to D feel rather bland.
In fact, this side ended up being more subdued in preparation as they had been cautious after watching Group A.
– There does seem to be an active use of superpowers… hmmm.
– Not sure whose idea it was, but cut it out.
– But if it’s an audition for a movie that uses superpowers, shouldn’t it be expected?
– Joo Seo-yeon was fun, but isn’t it just that she couldn’t act???
The superpowers’ acting didn’t resonate well, leading to lower evaluations.
Commonly, while actors prepared on how to showcase their powers, they scarcely considered how those powers would be received.
It’s only natural.
Actors want to shine the brightest.
To well receive the other’s act is ultimately to make them shine.
Even knowing this is an audition, it becomes an instinctive avoidance.
Thus, the mission for the now ten people in Group A was.
“It’s flag snatching.”
Cha Min-kyu, the actor, said as he looked at the cast of Group A.
With flags stuck to each other’s backs, they were to chase and snatch them.
“Plus, using parkour.”
Parkour literally means to perform actions utilizing the environment and obstructions.
In fact, various structures were present on the filming set.
– Ah
– I feel it coming.
– Joo Seo-yeon’s excited???
The broadcast screen captured an already upbeat Seo-yeon.
Sandwiched right next to her was the gloomy-faced Min Do-ha, which made her stand out even more.
– Why does Min Do-ha look so gloomy??
– Just think of your crying sound mixed with a supercar on the internet.
– Wouldn’t getting more famous benefit you instead?
– For real, LOL! You’ve become famous.
– Min Do-ha was at least a somewhat recognized actor, though.
Anyway, reflecting the audience’s reactions, Min Do-ha currently felt utterly miserable.
‘Of all things, it’s flag snatching.’
It didn’t feel good.
Really.
And as predicted by Min Do-ha.
“Why is only after me!! There’s plenty of other people!!”
Min Do-ha was desperately fleeing.
Literally, frantically.
He couldn’t just give away his flag due to pride, either.
‘Of all things, I had to choose shooting ability for my superpower…!’
He couldn’t resist.
I should’ve gone with telekinesis!! Then at least, I could’ve sent that girl flying.
“Hello.”
“AAAHHH!!!”
Seeing Seo-yeon jump over obstacles while desperately running, Min Do-ha screamed and fled.
Watching Min Do-ha, Seo-yeon found a moment to glance around and snatched flags from a few nearby actors.
As if they were originally hers.
With a woosh, Seo-yeon quickly left the area, watched with hollow expressions by the actors whose flags were taken.
That action was so natural.
– Fishing skills learned from Star Husband;;
– Joo Seo-yeon seems to like Min Do-ha; she keeps letting him live.
– LOL! If he runs away like that, it’s easy to spare him.
– If I ran on all fours like that, I’d probably let him live too.
– Is that all acting? Min Do-ha’s acting is really good.
– Acting? Ah, it’s acting? But what kind of acting???
– I don’t know that either.
– It seems to be a concept where a superpower user is running away from the protagonist? Isn’t the ability shooting too?
– Is that so?
Anyway, the intensity of the audience’s discussion started to rise.
In parkour, Seo-yeon was literally flying around.
At first, it felt as though she was moving slowly, but Min Do-ha running away while screaming seemed to have triggered something in her.
“Ah, Min Do-ha is running away from actress Joo Seo-yeon again.”
– Does Min Do-ha have any grudge against her???
– Min Do-ha: “Kill… me…”
– I’m starting to empathize with Min Do-ha, is that strange???
– That vicious crazy girl… isn’t Do-ha pitiful!!!
And just then, while Ramiel was broadcasting the show live, she nearly suppressed a chuckle.
Seeing Seo-yeon on screen reminded her of the past.
‘Poor thing.’
Ramiel genuinely felt sympathy for Min Do-ha.
Probably, Seo-yeon sincerely believed that Min Do-ha was ‘absorbing’ her acting well, hence why she chased him.
Letting him live was for that reason.
How could she immediately oust him when he’s responding so finely?
Moreover, for Seo-yeon, those obstacles were hardly obstacles at all.
Without needing to parkour, she could have simply jumped over everything.
She was merely rolling as it suited the mood of the performance.
‘Didn’t she say she wanted to manage her image?’
Ramiel recalled Seo-yeon saying so seriously to her.
At school, Seo-yeon said to her.
“I’ll be a bit modest for a while.”
“Huh?”
“I need to regain my original image. I’m an actress, and my image has been too weird.”
She was aware of that.
Though she wanted to say something, she felt it was fortunate that she decided to manage her image, even if it was late.
But.
– Is Jo Seo-hee flying now?
– Jo Seo-hee isn’t dead, are they?
– No, no. The filming set floor and the obstacles are cushioned, so it’s fine.
– You betrayed us last time, so you need to pay the price.
– Is Joo Seo-yeon strong, or is Jo Seo-hee light?
– But wasn’t Joo Seo-yeon’s ability regeneration???
– Not tiring out is also a regeneration ability…
“Uh…?”
It really does look like she wants to manage her image, right?
It felt like some trauma buried from childhood was resurfacing.
Back then, Ramiel had suggested Seo-yeon play tag, only to genuinely feel fear.
Why were her eyes shining red as she came running?
Even now, just recalling that time would give her nightmares.
Jo Seo-hee was tossed and rolled like now.
Seo-yeon was doing just that.
However.
What differed from back then was.
“Huh?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Jo Seo-hee was holding Seo-yeon’s flag.
Once again, just before it ended.
Having thrown her once high, Seo-yeon decided to let Jo Seo-hee live this time, and while Jo Seo-hee was crawling away, she stealthily snatched Seo-yeon’s flag right at the moment Seo-yeon was about to take Min Do-ha’s.
It was possible because she had such a low presence.
What Jo Seo-hee accomplished during this parkour mission was merely to shuffle along with her lacking running ability and insufficient physical capacity until she was captured and thrown by Joo Seo-yeon.
– No way.
– Two betrayals in a row???
– Aren’t they afraid of the aftermath?
Anyway.
Thus, the flag-snatching ended once again with Seo-yeon claiming the first place.
– Min Do-ha and Jo Seo-hee lived again.
– If Min Do-ha got his flag taken there, he would’ve dropped out, but Jo Seo-hee saved him, LOL!
– Did Jo Seo-hee get hit by Joo Seo-yeon???
– No, our Seo-yeon isn’t that type of personality.
– Still, seeing Joo Seo-yeon excitedly run around in a variety show felt likable.
– LOL! In variety shows, she doesn’t have that actress image.
Anyway, the Joo Seo-yeon fan club that was gradually increasing stepped out to protect her image.
Though it had a slight nuance of ‘our Seo-yeon won’t bite’, it was still.
“Group A feels pretty balanced.”
“Seo-yeon gives the impression of appropriately going out in the end.”
“The acting of Han Soo-yoo was good this time. The synergy between Han Soo-yoo and Joo Seo-yeon during the superpower scenes felt the best.”
“And Seo-hee’s character is well done. It feels like she’s effectively utilizing her acting skills.”
The staff and PD laughed while grading the performance scores for this episode of [Hyper Action Star].
In fact, the previously dropped viewership rating was up to 7 percent.
However, the fact that attention was solely focused on Group A bothered them a little.
‘It’s better than not having anything, though.’
PD Lee Ki-tae let out a sigh.
No, Group A had to be aired in the later half.
Had the order of Groups D and A been reversed, maintaining the viewership ratings would have been easier than it is now.
It was regrettable, but there was nothing that could be done.
“What does Director Han think?”
“……”
Director Han Ye-geon was seriously reviewing the footage just shot.
He watched the scenes that simply brought out laughter with an endlessly serious face.
Director Han Ye-geon.
That alone revealed something about his personality.
‘They say he’s a young genius.’
Particularly in directing action scenes, he’s noted to be no less than a master.
The reason GH Group brought Han Ye-geon onboard was likely for that reason.
Video aesthetics and action.
He sought to pursue it to an extreme.
Just like the recently popular superhero films from the West.
‘Honestly, it’s a gamble.’
These days, the audience’s expectations for action or CG levels were measured against Western superhero films.
If it was below that standard, it would just be undervalued or ridiculed.
Thus, in Korea, filmmakers tended to avoid incorporating such fantasy elements.
It’s hard to film and expensive, and if you just get mocked by the audience, who would make it?
“That would be me.”
At that moment, Han Ye-geon spoke up.
And feeling a brief silence in the atmosphere, Lee Ki-tae felt slightly nervous.
Han Ye-geon was rumored to be a director with high expectations for actors.
He thought perhaps today he might criticize Seo-yeon, who had a more comedic side than an acting one.
“I’ve seen many actors until now…”
He paused the frame where Joo Seo-yeon was chasing after Min Do-ha.
While the surrounding reactions would have merely found it funny and interesting, his perspective was different.
“There’s never been an actor with such a strong presence.”
“Surely, Joo Seo-yeon has a strong presence.”
“No, that’s not what I mean. It’s not just about capturing attention; it’s the sense of ‘anticipation.'”
“Anticipation?”
Han Ye-geon nodded.
“The expectation of what this actor will do. The vague imagination of what they will show. This actor has that in abundance. So viewers keep waiting for this actor to appear.”
Because it feels like she’ll show something.
“That anticipation will significantly assist not just with acting but also in terms of the film’s box office success.”
What will this actor showcase?
What will they do in this scene?
Joo Seo-yeon embodies that.
Han Ye-geon chuckled at the sight of Seo-yeon snatching Jo Seo-hee’s flag.
Truly, she maintained an air of unpredictability until the very end.
“You’ve done well bringing in such a monster.”
With those words from Han Ye-geon, Lee Ki-tae looked at Seo-yeon again.
If even this arrogant genius said such things, it suggested that Joo Seo-yeon was an actress beyond what he had anticipated.
And.
That monstrous actress was now…
“What are you doing?”
Wearing a glamorous dress, Seo-yeon was gently nudged by Jo Seo-hee.
“You said you wanted to know what it’s like to be in high society, right? We should head in now.”
“……”
They were at a lavish party held in a hotel.
With an inwardly regretful expression.
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