Chapter: 81
On the street, an advertisement flickered on the digital sign.
The first thing that caught the eye was a pitch-black dress.
With sleek black hair complementing that dress, it looked like a woman asleep amidst the shadows, almost like a fairy.
The ad exuded a calm and soothing vibe.
But there was something mysteriously eye-catching about it.
Some pedestrians walking by turned their attention to the ad.
“Who is she?”
“That’s from Éclat Étoile, right? Wasn’t that the brand Song Hui-bin was advertising?”
They chatted as they strolled.
And then, it happened.
A small dew drop fell onto the cheek of the sleeping woman.
Like a tiny starlight falling down, it shimmered and slowly trickled down her cheek.
With that, a girl in a black dress slowly opened her eyes.
Her eyes were mystical, suffused with a red hue that stood out, making her particularly memorable.
“Oh! It’s Princess Yeonhwa.”
“Yeah, that’s her! She went viral on a variety show and landed this ad?”
The women watched the ad as the girl in the black dress opened her eyes, bathing the scene in vibrant colors.
The drowsy look on her face began to brighten, her once-black dress transforming into pure white, radiantly shining.
Flowers blossomed in the desolate space as she gazed up at the sky.
Countless stars adorned the night sky.
Star light.
The woman gazing up seemed to shimmer too.
What was once a drowsy face now wore a bright smile, one that bloomed like a flower.
Under the starlight, she glowed against the dark night sky.
Her snow-white skin became prominent.
Surely, they must have retouched her.
Even while that thought crossed their minds, their eyes were drawn to her fair complexion.
That line capped off the ad for Éclat Étoile.
“Like a star.”
That had become the fresh catchphrase for the brand’s new campaign.
*
==
Post: I switched to a new cosmetic brand
(photo)
My skin looks great!
So shiny!
Comments
– Oh, where’s it from? Looks really good.
– Right?! I was really satisfied after switching!
– Tell me too, I’m thinking of changing cosmetics lately.
– I had a hard time finding it since there weren’t many options… Check out the store in Jamsil!!
– Is it a new brand? Your skin looks really pale, I wanna try it too, what’s the name?
– Thank you for the compliment! :>
– Ugh, come on, tell us the brand, you little bip!!!!!!!!!!!!!
– 111111
– 2222222 zzzzz Why won’t you just tell us, I’m losing my mind, lol.
==
In a women’s community discussing cosmetics, a particular product had recently caught fire.
Surprisingly, the post spread humorously across various communities, igniting discussions about the brand out of nowhere.
– That’s Éclat Étoile!
– How do you know that?
– My sister uses it.
– Is she pretty?
Éclat Étoile.
The brand had just switched its advertising model.
They had carefully prepared three types of essence creams and three types of tone-up creams.
All of them were collectively named “Starlight.”
– The ad is really well-made!
– Isn’t that Princess Yeonhwa? Her skin is definitely great.
– It’s all retouched!
– But seriously, the way she suddenly brightens up is fantastic.
The transition from a drab girl to a vibrant one felt like a shift from a black-and-white silent film to the modern era.
The shimmering skin perfectly matched the name “Starlight.”
This inevitably led to a rise in Éclat Étoile’s sales.
And yet another thing.
In a community unrelated to cosmetics, discussions about Joo Seoyeon arose.
– I hear the cast is coming out to promote in Survival Without People.
– What’s Survival Without People? Is that the deserted island thing? What a dumbed-down title.
– If actors are coming out, it’s probably going to be super dull.
– For real, it sounds lame.
– I heard one of the actresses is a high school student.
– Now that sounds fun!
– The truth is that Survival Without People is slowly improving.
– Are you serious? Just thinking about them whining makes my head hurt.
In the community where Survival Without People was mentioned.
Though there’s more talk about online broadcasts, the community still discussed variety shows.
With Survival Without People being a popular show, the buzz was inevitable.
The cast for this episode soon became known as actors from The Chaser.
– Who is Joo Seoyeon?
– She’s playing a part-time worker, right?
The actress appearing in the ad played a mere “convenience store part-timer.”
Talk circulated about a supporting role appearing in a variety show.
There were murmurs about leveraging recent fame, but it was just a supporting role at best.
Besides, a female lead.
Survival Without People was a variety show thriving on watching guests struggle in harsh conditions, so many were unimpressed by the idea of a young actress participating.
– If she’s doing nothing, it’ll all get edited out, that’s fine by me.
– Even those few appearances would likely just be “I wanna go home~~~~~”
As hours passed with chatter about Survival Without People.
The “Papua New Guinea” episode began.
*
Kicking off amid the controversy, Survival Without People commenced.
The story began from the point of view of a man who had arrived on a deserted island in Papua New Guinea.
That man was Park Jung-woo.
– Why is he here?
– I didn’t hear Park Jung-woo was coming?
With his appearance, chatter erupted in the community.
After all, Park Jung-woo was not just any actor.
He was also a model for luxury brands abroad and often mentioned as the top young actor lately.
Having succeeded without the shadow of his father, whether in acting or looks, he was clean-cut in his private life as well.
He had a somewhat rigid image due to his lack of controversies.
And now, Park Jung-woo was appearing on a variety show, of all things—Survival Without People?
“Why?”
“Why the heck am I here…?”
Muttering to himself, Park Jung-woo voiced the thoughts echoed by viewers.
He was roaming around the deserted island, lumbering about when he soon hid behind some bushes.
It turns out, the Survival Without People crew had arrived a little late.
Then as Park Jung-woo made his entrance, astonished reactions erupted.
In the midst of that, a female actor with wide eyes appeared.
Joo Seoyeon.
– Oh, they have a connection.
– Another The Sun Hidden by the Moon reference?
– They seemed to have great chemistry in that previous variety show.
As Park Jung-woo walked in, Seoyeon naturally came up too.
Aside from The Sun Hidden by the Moon, Looking Back at Memories had recently stirred up quite the buzz.
The appearance of Park Jung-woo, which had sparked a significant online reaction, made it somewhat understandable that he was on Survival Without People.
– The crew really thought this through; the rating should be fabulous.
– Haha, looks like it could actually work.
Until that point, the reactions were rather conventional.
Maybe smart decisions were being made, or certainly, they did look good together.
But then suddenly…
– What’s she doing?
– Is she trying to start a fire?
The atmosphere shifted as Seoyeon stepped up to start a fire herself.
Determined to take action instead of letting Park Jung-woo handle it, she even picked rock-paper-scissors and crushes the rock.
“Ha ha! What is happening?”
Seoyeon holding a shattered twig and staring down at her hand was surreal.
– How the heck is that twig so fragile?
– ? lol
People began to feel something strange.
Wasn’t that twig a bit too easy to break?
“Okay then,” she said, poking at a coconut with her finger.
The viewers shared an expression similar to that of Jung-woo.
His face, shifting between looking at the coconut and Seoyeon, was hard to read.
– ??????
– Since when did coconuts come in female versions?
– Does the shell really differ for the ladies?
– You gotta be kidding me.
None of the participants seemed to notice this oddity.
The only ones observing this strange phenomenon were Jung-woo, the cameraman, and the viewers.
“This is a spear,” she declared.
“Oh, I see.”
“I want to catch a fish.”
From where she got it, Seoyeon had been prancing about with a makeshift spear.
Her strong intent to catch fish—or any wild animal—was very clear.
Meanwhile, Park Jung-woo looked increasingly worn out, feeling like the unexpected caregiver for Seoyeon.
What began as a fun spectacle had morphed into something entirely different, with Seoyeon practically bouncing around like a wild horse.
“Hey!!! Don’t climb the trees!!”
“Look! There’s fruit up here!”
“No, that’s not edible!!!”
She climbed trees with gusto.
“Are there any wild boars around?”
“If there are, run!”
“I think I could win.”
“?”
Regardless, she was navigating the jungle like it was her backyard.
– What in the world is happening?
– Is this supposed to be real?
– Everyone’s exhausted, yet she’s full of energy? Is she taking breaks when the cameras aren’t rolling or what?
– Even if she takes breaks, I doubt anyone could keep up like that.
She looked like an excited retriever dashing around.
Meanwhile, Jung-woo was trailing behind, on the verge of collapse.
The sheer fact that Seoyeon had that much energy was astonishing.
– The truth is Joo Seoyeon is gaining health.
– Maybe she should tone it down a bit!
Then came the mission announcement.
“Tonight’s dinner hinges on a mission.”
It was announced by Producer Shin Young-woo.
A regular event on Survival Without People.
“In the highest mountain of this deserted island, we’ve placed a flag.”
In other words, whoever retrieves the flag first would be rewarded with a special dinner.
That was the gist of the mission.
The number of participants was just one.
Although the mountain wasn’t too high, the trek through the tropical forest would wear anyone out pretty quickly.
Park Jung-woo forfeited early.
As for Seoyeon?
“Can I carry the camera?”
The cameraman, taken aback by her request, stammered, “What?”
“I’m going to run, and I thought it might be tough for you.”
“Could she actually be able to run through the tropics?”
“Maybe…?”
Viewers and the cameraman briefly had that thought too.
But the camera was slightly heavy.
“Could she even run with it?” was an unnecessary worry.
“Uh, that’s not possible; how about this?”
The cameraman passed her a smaller camera he brought just in case.
It looked small enough to manage, perfect for direct filming.
“Okay, I’ll be off!”
“Wait?”
The mission had already started.
Especially since Park Hee-joon, another guest, had already taken off first.
“Hold on!!”
Before she could voice her concern about going alone, Seoyeon had already bolted.
– Can’t see her, crazy girl!
– Did you seriously just grab the camera and take off?
Anyway, what could possibly come of Seoyeon with the camera in hand?
Considering this would end up being an edited video, one couldn’t help but wonder how useless her footage would be.
Sure, most of her running shots would be edited, but occasionally snippets of her speeding through the bushes or her bright smile while running would barely reveal it was her at all.
“Oh, Seoyeon, when did you arrive?”
“I came here a while ago.”
The first to make it was Seoyeon.
The second was Park Hee-joon.
Though he arrived slightly late with the cameraman, he certainly didn’t expect Seoyeon to outpace him.
It made sense; Park Hee-joon had been a special forces member.
– If you don’t know, memorize it: high school girl >= Special Forces guy.
– Unbelievable.
– Is this what survival really looks like?
Regardless, thanks to Seoyeon’s fantastic effort in the mission, she enjoyed a delicious dinner.
And her exploits would continue in the next episode of Survival Without People set in Papua New Guinea.
– But why isn’t her skin getting tanned?
– Didn’t she run around like crazy???
Slowly, the viewers began to take notice of different aspects.
Her fair skin.
Even the other participants seemed curious, asking her directly.
“Seoyeon, wow, your skin isn’t even burnt! What cosmetics do you use? You gotta tell me.”
That came from Bang Ha-yoon, the only other female participant besides Seoyeon.
Seoyeon paused, visibly pondering, as if debating whether to share or not.
Yet, she held back from naming the brand directly.
“Well, I did that ad shoot.”
And that was all she said.
That response ignited an explosion of interest once Survival Without People aired.
In extreme conditions, what was the magical cosmetic protecting Seoyeon’s alabaster skin?
If it was a cosmetic Seoyeon advertised, only one brand stood out.
The newly launched skincare line from Éclat Étoile.
Once Survival Without People concluded, an outbreak of sellouts followed across all department stores and Éclat Étoile outlets.
And thus began the rise of a new star in advertising.
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