episode_0271

Sua hasn’t been checking every detail lately because she’s so busy, but the rise of the ‘Sumiho’ channel has been incredible.

You can see it just by looking at the numbers themselves.

[Subscribers: 380,000]

Almost 400,000 subscribers, even though she’s only focused on singing. ‘Sumiho’ is already famous among people who are interested in song cover channels.

If she has 380,000 subscribers, are the views around the same?

‘Huh?’

It wasn’t. Sua was very surprised by this.

[【Sumiho】─ Gathering Hearts Cover]

[Views: 34.42 Million]

‘T-T-Thirty million?’

It wouldn’t be strange if her eyeballs popped out and rolled on the floor. That’s how Sua felt about the numbers.

‘How many people are in Korea? How did it get thirty million views? Is that even possible?’

But she soon understood why.

This video wasn’t just popular in Korea.

You can see it just by looking at the comments.

It’s not just Korean. It’s a feast of many languages.

【Gathering Hearts COVER Comments】

─I probably contributed about 100 views to this. I don’t know how many times I’ve replayed it already.

─スミホ！本当に良いカバー曲を聞かせてくれてありがとう。 日本から応援しています。(Sumiho! Thank you for letting us hear a really good cover song! I’m cheering you on from Japan!)

─韓国の平凡なウタイテではないかと思ったが、聞くやいなや考えが変わった。 いつかオリジナル曲も聴きたい！(I thought it might be just an ordinary *utaite* from Korea, but my mind changed as soon as I heard it. I want to hear an original song someday!)

─This cover song is crazy!

(This cover song is crazy!)

The views exploded because viewers from various countries repeatedly listened to the cover song.

Among ‘channels that only sing without revealing their identity,’ there hasn’t been a bigger sensation than this.

Kim Iseo said with a smile.

“I haven’t told Sua every detail, but there have actually been a lot of advertisements coming into the Sumiho channel. Asking to play it just once before singing.”

“…Really?”

“Of course. There are a lot of product advertisements too? Asking to expose the equipment even if we don’t show Sumiho’s face, but I really didn’t expect this much growth.”

Sua felt a little shy, but good at the same time.

Because these metrics mean she’s being recognized purely for her ‘singing,’ right? She can’t help but feel proud.

In other words, Sua Proud! Sua Confident!

Sua subtly straightened her shoulders and said.

“So, does that mean it’s about time to reveal Sumiho’s identity? I’m a little nervous.”

“Nervous? Sua being nervous is the funniest joke in the world.”

No? I’m serious, though.

Anyway, Kim Iseo chuckled and said.

“So, we’ll definitely do the reveal, but the problem is the direction after that. Let’s discuss that for a moment.”

“The direction after that?”

“Yes. It will create a lot of buzz when it’s revealed that Sumiho is Sua, but we have to pay attention to the content after that. Otherwise, there will be a backlash.”

“A backlash…”

“It’s obvious when you think about it. If you show up with a ‘Ta-da!’ and then there’s no content, viewers will just feel like they’ve been tricked, right? They might feel unpleasant like they were tricked by viral marketing. So, I was wondering, is there any content other than singing that we can add?”

“Wait a minute. Content to add other than singing…”

Surprisingly, Sua didn’t ponder for long.

Something other than singing to emphasize as a strength on the MuTube channel? Sua has that in her hands right now.

Sua, having made up her mind, opened her mouth.

“CEO, how about cooking?”

“Huh? Cooking?”

Kim Iseo had a face like a squirrel that dropped its acorn. A face as if she’d heard something completely unexpected.

“Cooking? Why suddenly cooking? Ah, are you interested in Sua *mukbang*? Come to think of it, that’s not bad?”

Kim Iseo couldn’t even imagine Sua cooking herself. No way she’d be good at cooking too, right?

But a lightning bolt of thought flashed through Kim Iseo’s mind a moment later. It was something like an intuition she’d cultivated over time.

‘Maybe not? Could Sua actually do it?’

For Kim Iseo, it was a somewhat rational assumption. After all, Sua had often accomplished things that were close to impossible.

Therefore, the CEO began a probe.

“…Sua, am I understanding correctly? *Mukbang*, right?”

“It’s true that I like eating. But what I just said was about cooking myself.”

“Cooking yourself? Sua?”

Kim Iseo’s head tilted slightly to the side. The hope in her heart grew a little bit.

“Sua, how good are you at cooking?”

“Just good enough to be able to live on my own?”

“Hmm, I see.”

Sua was just using her Sua-Modesty technique, but Kim Iseo concluded at this point that she must be really average if she’s not particularly emphasizing her strengths.

“Okay. Then let’s invite chefs and have content where we learn how to cook simply and eat together.”

“Invite chefs? Oh, that sounds fun.”

Sua nodded several times.

Her and the chefs’ cooking skills?

I wanted to compare them anyway! Sua Curious!

◈◈◈◈◈

A little later.

Sua and Kim Iseo were now looking at something else.

It was a calendar. It was time to check the schedule.

“Sua, would you like to take a look at the calendar? The schedule has been ridiculously busy lately, so I think we need to highlight a few things for sure. That way there won’t be any confusion between us.”

“Yes, yes. I’m ready to listen.”

To be exact, Yoo Han-Sua was ready to listen.

─Ugh! Why me again!

But, you’re smarter than me and understand things better, right? This is efficient work! In other words, Sua Shameless!

While Sua was chatting with Yoo Han-Sua, the CEO said.

“First of all, there are a few cosmetic advertisement shoots today, and tomorrow there will be some additions from ‘High Society’. For the time being, the biggest thing is still ‘Alien Game’, though.”

Sua nodded silently.

That Alien Game is huge. Sua vaguely knew it too. The atmosphere in the group chat on her phone is like that, and the internet atmosphere is noisy.

“The ‘Alien Game’ buzz will start coming from Japan soon? Check that, and a ‘Star Summit’ schedule is right after that. And after that…”

“…”

Sua gave up listening at this point.

What is this, it doesn’t end even if you keep listening?

‘Are you listening carefully? Are you remembering well? Yoo Han-Sua!’

─Yes…

Okay, okay, Sua can be preoccupied with other thoughts for a while. After all, Yoo Han-Sua is listening.

Therefore, what Sua is most curious about in her mind right now is.

‘I wonder how well Alien Game will do?’

Looking at the current momentum, she can’t help but have expectations. What if it becomes a bigger hit than expected?

In other words, Sua Expectations!

◈◈◈◈◈

That night.

On the Korean internet, buzz related to ‘Alien Game’ continued to blaze.

There were those who were holding a festival with this enthusiasm.

Who else could it be? Of course, it’s the ‘Alien Game’ production team.

“Cheers!”

Clink!

They celebrated this victory by clinking cans of beer. Unfortunately, they can’t drink *soju* yet. From now on, they have to move much more busily.

“The mentions on the internet are no joke!”

“Hahaha! Of course! Even when we were filming, we were saying ‘What is this?’, so how could viewers not?”

The atmosphere couldn’t be good, now that it’s a success.

They are praising each other right now.

“This is all thanks to the director’s amazing directing. Even when I look at it again now, the visuals are beautiful.”

“I didn’t do that much… Hong Writer-nim’s script was good, and the actors’ performances were excellent.”

In that atmosphere, Netflix officials continue to monitor the internet atmosphere.

The head of the Netflix Korea team smiled.

“It’s successful, isn’t it? Netflix’s entry into Korea.”

Then, Hong Yeji finally opens her mouth.

“…Is it that good?”

“It’s better than that! How amazing is it that we dared to try with just a new structure of the platform and an unusual genre, and we’ve attracted so much attention?”

He continued to speak with a smile on his face.

“We will continue to maintain this atmosphere as much as possible, and in three days we will release the OST sung directly by Sua-ssi.”

In short, there was still one shot left.

And a big one at that!

◈◈◈◈◈

The next day.

Vroom!

Sua was looking at her phone in the running van. She was moving to supplement some scenes of ‘High Society,’ but her mind was elsewhere.

Huh? Where is it being sold?

Of course!

‘Isn’t it about time the results of Alien Game come out? When is the Netflix update! I’m just waiting for that!’

In the case of Special Task Force 808, it was possible to check the ratings almost at the same time as the first broadcast, but ‘Alien Game’ was on Netflix, so it wasn’t yet.

It’s not ratings, but a real-time ranking that confirms it?

That was why Sua was nervous now. If they’re going to line them up in order, where will ‘Alien Game’ be?

Right then.

─♩♪♬

Sua’s phone rang.

[Caller: Hong Yeji]

A call from Hong Yeji, the writer of ‘Alien Game,’ Sua answered the phone without even taking a breath. She was very nervous, but she still tried not to show it on the outside.

“Hello? Hong *sunbae*?”

“Sua-ssi, thank you.”

“Yes? For what?”

“Did you, by any chance, try to access Netflix?”

“Yes?”

Even during this short conversation, Sua’s heart began to tickle. Hong Yeji’s voice was trembling slightly. In a very good way.

Sua pretended not to know that and said.

“Why? Is there something wrong with Netflix?”

“Yes. Something very big happened.”

Sua was talking on wireless earphones, so she could operate the screen at the same time. Tap tap with her finger.

She soon accessed Netflix.

[NEKPLIX]

When she accessed it, the UI was different from before.

To be exact, one thing had been newly added.

[TOP 10 Movies IN SOUTH KOREA] 1. Alien Game 2. Small Family 3. Stacked House 4. It’s too hot. You too?

That was the real-time TOP 10 ranking, after a certain period of time had passed, the data was finally compiled and statistics were out. Sua’s ‘Alien Game’ was confidently stuck at number 1.

“…!”

As Sua clenched her fist in joy.

Hong Yeji’s voice was heard from across the receiver.

“…It’s really a hit. What are we going to do about this?”

“What do you mean, what are we going to do?”

Sua asked without even realizing it.

What do you mean, what are we going to do?

Give in to the flow and enjoy it!