"Holy shit." Jihoon was the first to break the silence.
"That was insane," Yura whispered, her eyes still fixed on the screen.
"Minjae, that was amazing!"
"Woah! I knew our dear Minjae was good, but this? This is next level!"
"You were so good! That was unreal!"
"You absolutely killed it, Minjae-ssi!"
"I got chills! Literal chills!"
Minjae blinked at the sudden burst of reaction. He had expected praise, but this was something else entirely. Even Director Hwang, who was usually composed, had a look of satisfaction on his face.
Some of the staff were even crying because of what they had seen.
It was the same on the internet. At the end of the episode, the topic was already on fire on social media.
The scene that they were finally waiting for had arrived.
#TheOnlyWayEpisode7
#Minjae'sActing
Trending topics quickly formed online. Clips of Minjae's scene were already being posted, some even slowed down to capture the raw emotions on his face.
It was masterfully crafted that fans and casual viewers alike were losing their minds.
- "Who is this guy?! That performance was INSANE."
- "I was just casually watching, and then boom—I started crying. His emotions were so raw."
- "I need to see more of Minjae. His acting gave me chills."
- As expected, the episode didn't let us down
- I am speechless
- Guys, I fear this man ate.
- After 3 weeks of waiting, we've finally witnessed the scene.
- My 3 weeks of waiting was satisfied
- I'll wait for this guy's debut drama
- I guess I am a fan now.
- Minjae you just earned another supporter
- Time to be a simp for Minjae oppa!
As the cast and crew continued celebrating, Minjae casually checked his phone. His notifications had been piling up like crazy, with hundreds—no, thousands of new followers appearing by the second.
His Wintergram account, which had been steadily growing for weeks without any post had now suddenly skyrocketed.
49,270 followers…
49,580…
49,899…
Minjae blinked
Then, with a final refresh.
50,000 followers.
As soon as Minjae saw the number tick past 50,000, a familiar voice echoed in his mind.
[Ding!]
A translucent blue screen appeared in front of him, displaying a congratulatory message from the system.
—
[Congratulations, Host!]
[You have successfully reached 50,000 followers on Wintergram!]
[Mission Completed: Gain your first 50k!]
[You have been rewarded 10,000 EXP in <Acting>.]
Minjae glanced at the notification before staring back at his phone's screen. His followers was still continuing to increase.
50,103…
50,740…
51,200…
Every refresh of his brought another surge of followers.
The reaction to his scene had exceeded all expectations. The cheers and chatter of the cast and crew also continued around him, but his mind was momentarily elsewhere.
Then, suddenly, a new notification from the system rang again.
[Ding!]
[New Quest Unlocked!]
[Quest: Establish Your Presence!]
[Objectives: Now that you've captured the attention of the industry, it's time to make another mark, Host!]
Post your first official Wintergram update Gain 50,000 more followers (100,000 total)
[Rewards: 12,000 EXP in <Acting> ]
Minjae's mind was still processing the new system quest when Jihoon suddenly threw an arm around his shoulders, shaking him excitedly.
"Bro! Are you even seeing this?!" Jihoon exclaimed, nearly knocking Minjae's phone out of his hands. "Your followers are going insane right now!"
"Minjae! Woah! You're blowing up online!" Yura exclaimed out loud as she leaned, accidentally peeking over at Minjae's phone. She gasped when she saw his follower count.
"50k already?! You're insane! I should get your autograph early and sell it!"
"Wait, you hit 50k already?!" Seojin gasped on the side.
"And now he's already past 52,000," one of the staff members added as he checked it on his own phone. "At this rate, our dear Minjae might hit 100k before morning!"
"Look at these comments!" another crew member called out. "They're all about Minjae!"
Everyone began gathering around, pulling out their phones to check the trending page.
The room was filled with excitement.
"#Minjae'sActing is literally #2 worldwide right now!"
"He's the most searched name on XYZ right now!"
"People are saying he just stole the whole damn show!"
Minjae scrolled through another flood of comments while his phone buzzed non-stop with notifications of people tagging him on their tweets and posts.
@AaBbCc: I watched the episode late and I got spoiled already! But I'll admit that the new guy was good!
@Messiah_Gardner: GUYS. I think I just found my new ult bias. LOOK AT HIM.
@jergenmay: Mark my words, everyone! This rookie just set the bar for every new actor entering the industry.
"'I think I just found my new ult bias.' Bro, you've officially entered idol territory now." Jihoon read one of the comments out loud, laughing.
"Tsk. Stop laughing when we haven't even received those kinds of comments." Yura elbowed Jihoon playfully.
Jihoon made a face before turning to Minjae once again.
"Well, hyung, you better get used to it! This is only the beginning!"
"Thank you for all your support, everyone." Minjae appreciated all their words. "But I barely did anything."
"Barely did anything? Hyung, you just made half of the country cry." Jihoon uttered as a matter of fact.
In honesty, he also teared up a little bit. Though he quickly wiped it away as it was too embarrassing to cry with these many people around.
"Seriously though, I felt like this is already the beginning. You better get used to all the attention now, Minjae." Yura agreed with Jihoon's words
"Oh well…"Minjae hummed, glancing at his screen again. In there was his Wintergram account, and as he refreshed it once again, the numbers kept climbing up.
"You know…" Seojin who was watching from the side called their attention. "I've been following the industry for years because I've also been a fan of a lot of actors, but I've never seen a reaction like this for a rookie."
"I know right?" Yura grinned. "This isn't normal."
"Yes! Hyung, I hope you're ready. 'Cause your life is about to change." Jihoon whistled, shaking his head.
Minjae chuckled as he shake his head. He pressed his lips together and took a deep breath.
Yeah.
This might really be the start.
=====
A/N: Happy 100k views! Thank you for all your support!