7 AM.
As I stepped out into the hallway, there was a different sedan parked instead of Manager So-young’s car.
The window of the sedan rolled down, revealing Manager Young-ho from the Rookie Development Team inside.
Manager Young-ho spoke.
“Do-hee, get in!”
Today’s ad shoot location is Gangneung.
Since we had to take the highway, it looked like Manager Young-ho, who is skilled at driving, was joining me as the day’s road manager.
I greeted him and hopped into the passenger seat.
“Do-hee, have you eaten breakfast?”
“Yes, I just had an apple.”
I had been avoiding salty foods since last night to avoid looking bloated.
“Just an apple? Is that enough?”
I replied with a smile.
“If I’m super hungry, we can stop at a rest area on the way.”
“Sure, we have plenty of time, let’s do that. I know you’re probably tired, so don’t worry about me and take a nap.”
“Okay, thank you~”
I can’t sleep too long or my face will puff up.
After about two and a half hours of driving, we arrived at the filming location in Gangneung, specifically at a breakwater for the Ion Sweat ad shoot.
The location was bustling with various vehicles and staff, just like when we shot the “Thinking of You” music video.
I got out of the car and greeted the staff, including the director, before heading to the makeup trailer to finish my makeup.
Today’s ad shoot styling featured a blend of blue and white, fitting the advertisement’s image.
I wore a sky-blue windbreaker, short-sleeved top with a white t-shirt inside.
And White sneakers and white socks.
Finally, my long, flowing hair.
A simple styling that emphasized purity.
Today’s shoot was just as straightforward—the entire day’s shoot would involve standing on the breakwater and shooting a few scenes with the sea as the backdrop.
After waiting for two hours to finish my makeup and get ready for shooting, we finally began.
“Okay, let’s start with the first scene. Cue.”
As the director’s cue signaled the start, the camera began to capture my profile.
I stood on the breakwater, gazing at the blue sea spread out before me.
The director shouted.
“Okay, lift your head and look towards the sun!”
Since the later audio would be recorded, outside sounds didn’t matter.
I lifted my head to look at the sun, and naturally, squinted my eyes as it shone brightly.
“Cut, even if it’s bright, try to keep your eyes open slightly.”
“Got it.”
After several attempts.
“Okay. Let’s move on to the next scene.”
Following the director’s instructions, I shot the scenes in succession.
A scene of drinking a beverage.
A scene of me laughing with my hair blowing in the wind.
A jumping scene against the sea backdrop, and so on…
Three days later.
I came to a recording studio in Seoul for the ad recording.
While practicing my diction by reading the script, a production staff member sitting in front of an audio mixer, presumably the recording director, spoke to me.
“Do-hee, are you ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready.”
I entered the recording studio, placed the script on the stand, and put on the headset.
The recording studio was silent.
The only sound came when the outside staff pressed the talkback button.
The voice of the outside staff came through the headset.
“Hello.”
“Oh, hi.”
“I’m going to start now. You can come in while watching the video and take your position.”
The staff told me to match the narration to the commercial video playing in front of me.
“Uh, there’s no queue sign?”
“No, there isn’t. Just do it comfortably.”
“Got it.”
Still, the script had some approximate narration timings, so I’d just have to do my best.
“I’m starting now.”
The commercial video without narration began on the recording studio screen.
I whispered the words.
“Spring.”
The timing was slightly off.
“I’m sorry. Let me try again.”
“Okay, let’s go again.”
The video started again.
“Spring.”
“I wish it was always warm, but…”
The video showed me against a backdrop of the ocean.
In the video, I was looking straight ahead, then lifted my head to gaze at the sky.
“Sometimes, there’s a cold snap.”
The screen cut to a soccer player stumbling and falling.
“I wish it was always clear, but…”
A student in uniform, staring helplessly at an exam paper.
“Sometimes, there’s yellow dust…”
A student with a guitar, looking dejected after failing a music audition.
“But hey, who cares?”
My face appeared again against the background of the ocean.
My hair swayed in the sea breeze.
“Finding greenery in such springs is youth, right?”
The running soccer player again.
The studying student again.
The student playing the guitar again.
“Find your greenery.”
Me, sipping an Ion Sweat.
“The blue inside you, Ion Sweat.”
I turned my head to look at the camera and beamed.
And the Ion Sweat logo appeared.
The video ended.
The staff spoke through the headset.
“Yes, that was great. Just like that.”
“Got it.”
“Let’s go one more time.”
The video started again.
“Spring…”
…
…
After recording the narration a few more times, the staff said,
“I’m going to organize the recording. Let’s listen.”
“Sure.”
Once again, silence filled the recording studio.
All I could see in the stillness was the advertisement client and production staff outside moving their lips.
It was just that.
It seemed like they were discussing opinions while listening to the recording.
I took a sip of water to quench my throat, skimming through the script again in the silence.
After about five minutes, sounds came through the headset.
– I’ll let Do-hee listen too. –
“Yes.”
The recording I narrated started playing for me.
I provided feedback to myself while watching the recording.
Hmm, this part feels a bit awkward.
This tone seems too low.
The delivery of these lines is a bit lacking.
After the video ended, I looked out the window, wondering if there would be any additional instructions, but the staff was just chatting among themselves.
As I waited silently in the recording booth, feedback came through the headset.
– Good job. But this part, ‘but in spring,’ feels a bit slow. –
“Yes.”
– And you need to pay attention to the differences between narration and dialogue. –
“Yes, understood!”
I picked up a pen and jotted down the points I needed to correct in the script.
– Okay, let’s tidy that up and try it again. –
And I began recording.
– Let’s start from ‘But what does it matter?’ –
Recording again.
– For ‘Find your blue,’ bring out a bit more of that student vibe. –
Recording again.
After all the feedback wrapped up, the 30-second commercial recording was finished.
The staff said.
– Now we’ll record the 6-second version. –
“Yes~”
– Alright, here we go. –
The short 6-second video was of me jumping high towards the sea with my hair flying, drenched in sweat.
I started the narration.
“Find your blue.”
“I on sweat, Ion Sweat!”
With that, the recording for the 6-second ad was done.
The staff said through the headset.
– That’s it! Great job. –
“Yes! Thanks for your hard work~”
Phew, at least we finished within two hours.
They say pros can wrap up something this short in 30 minutes.
I still have a long way to go.
.
.
.
Not even a week after finishing the recording, at the end of July.
I went to work at 10 AM as usual and was practicing.
After finishing my vocal lesson and coming out of the room, Woo-ah Unni, who was next for her vocal lesson, said to me.
“Do-hee! Did you see the Ion Sweat ad that aired earlier?”
“Huh? Really?”
It seems like the post-production went quickly, and the ad was registered earlier than expected.
Woo-ah Unni was thrilled as if it were her own achievement.
“Yes! The staff were talking about it! Check it out!”
“Okay, thanks. I’ll check it out soon.”
I wrapped up all the scheduled lessons.
Once it was free practice time, I went into an empty vocal room in the basement and turned on my phone, just in case it could be a distraction during practice.
As soon as I turned on my phone, it vibrated with messages and alerts from KakaoTalk.
The text was about an ad video being posted, and the KakaoTalk messages were congratulatory notes from my family.
I quickly typed a response and, feeling excited, hopped onto YouTube to search for “Ion Sweat.”
[2021 Ion Sweat TVCF: Find Your Green Do-hee Lee_30s]
[2021 Ion Sweat TVCF: Find Your Green Do-hee Lee_6s]
There were two versions available in the search results.
With a pounding heart, I pressed play on the short 6-second version.
– Find your green. Ion Sweat! –
The ad was exactly the same as the recording I had listened to in the studio.
The 30-second version I watched afterward was no different.
But now that I could relax and watch the video—not being stressed about recording—everything felt different.
Back then, I looked just pretty good…
But this time…
Damn, I’m gorgeous…?
Wow…
I’m falling in love with myself.
At this point, I think I’ve captured not only my youth but also a touch of innocence.
Excitedly, I dragged the screen down to start scrolling through the comments.
Only 6 comments.
It seemed that since the ad had just released today, comments were a bit sparse.
So, let’s see…
[Just the kind of Ion ad! So pretty!]
[This ad makes my heart flutter.]
[I was so jealous that Japan’s Ion Sweat has ads themed around student youth, but I’m glad Korea is putting out ads like this too!]
[Maybe all of us are living while forgetting our own greens. This ad that awakened that blue dream is really different from past Ion ads.]
[Ion Sweat ads are excellent at connecting with customers. It’s seen as warm and comforting because it understands and hugs the hearts of the youth.]
[Honestly, this commentary is so cool!]
Um…
What’s this?
Why isn’t there a single mention of me?
Everyone’s just praising the ad!
…
…
…
Two weeks after the ad aired on TV.
As exposure increased, more people started coming back to YouTube after seeing the TVCF.
Naturally, not only did more comments appear on YouTube, but mentions of me started popping up in online communities as well.
[Who is this person????]
(This is a capture of the Ion Sweat CF ad.)
The person doing this Ion Sweat ad… so pretty! OMG
└ Found out it’s Do-hee Lee on YouTube!
[Wow, I remember the female lead from Ion Sweat.]
She was so pretty that I couldn’t stop thinking about her, and I freaked out when I saw her on Ion Sweat during TV!
└ I was unsure, but it’s really her!
[Does anyone know who the Ion Sweat ad model is?? T_T]
I can’t find anything beyond “Do-hee” when searching… anyone know…?
└ She’s a trainee from Topist!
└ I remember her as the female lead in the music video!
└ OMG, she was a trainee? Thanks for letting me know!!!
└ Wait, is she a Topist?
└ I was curious about who she was every time I saw her! Haha.
└ Same… I kept noticing how pretty she was, so I watched the entire ad! Lol.
And just like that, I naturally transitioned from a private trainee to a publicly recognized trainee at Topist.
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