Chapter 1179: Movie Star (7)

The beginning was with people sharing their experiences.

[Spoilers) The Black Wizard post-credits scene is insane]

Seon Wooju appears???

As people murmured about it, firsthand accounts began appearing all over the internet.

First came the movie communities.

[Just watched Black Wizard (Spoilers)]

..(omitted)

The visuals were quite impressive, but everything else was underwhelming. It was a film that highlighted the disastrous judgment of Silver Comics’ executives compared to Wonder Comics.

On the other hand, the one-minute post-credits scene at the end genuinely made me gasp.

The person who recently joined Silver Comics has appeared.

Some people were worried about his acting ability because he was a newcomer, but after seeing this post-credits scene, I think those concerns can be put aside hahaha. I’m looking forward to the second half of this year.

Then came user reviews on movie rating sites.

user_179152 [★★☆☆☆]

A two-hour buildup for the final one-minute post-credits scene.

Banana Cookie [★☆☆☆☆]

Two hours where the after-meal cookie tastes better than the main course. Will Silver Comics finally see brighter days?

The Beauty of Sleep [★☆☆☆☆]

The irony of a one-minute post-credits scene being more substantial than a two-hour movie.

PS. If the developers are watching, please update the rating system to allow zero stars. 0.5 is too high.

Everyone showed the same reaction, and Koreans became increasingly curious.

What?

What could possibly make the post-credits scene better than the actual movie?

How does Wooju appear??

Rumors spread everywhere.

“I heard Wooju appears at the end.”

“Seon Wooju appears.”

Somehow, the rumor spread as if Wooju himself had appeared in the movie.

And soon, people began heading out to confirm it for themselves.

“Sound of the Sun… No, wait, that Black Wizard movie? That one.”

“The 2:45 showing is sold out. Would 3:15 work?”

“Yes, yes.”

People buying tickets after work.

Couples entering with bright smiles after booking online, carrying popcorn buckets.

Superhero movie fans.

And then—

“Miss!! Two tickets for Seon Wooju’s movie!!”

“Do you mean , where NewBlack’s Wooju appears in the post-credits scene?”

“Great!!!”

Even an elderly man in his eighties happily accepting his ticket.

The rumor that NewBlack’s Wooju appeared at the end made everyone enter the theater with expectations.

And then they started dozing off or complaining.

You’re telling me Wooju really only appeared for ten seconds at the end?

Two hours sacrificed for ten seconds.

But just like everyone said, the final one-minute post-credits scene was genuinely thrilling.

Especially when Wooju showed his tearful acting at the end, people couldn’t help but admire him.

[The guy who said Seon Wooju appears for 10 seconds in the Black Wizard post-credits scene, come out]

He really does appear for 10 seconds, damn it.

I wasted two hours for those 10 seconds.

-??????????????

While most ordinary viewers agreed that “Silver Comics might finally have a great movie,” Souffle members who went to see it early showed similar reactions.

By the evening of opening day, the news had spread everywhere.

Stories about Wooju’s post-credits scene filled portal news.

—Black Wizard, Opening Day… Post-Credits Scene Explodes in Popularity: “He Has Arrived”

—Fang Finally Appears. Does He Have the Presence of <Guardians 2>’s Main Villain?

—Black Wizard Left Only the Post-Credits Scene Behind… “Fang Has Appeared”

Even people hearing the news for the first time clicked the articles with interest.

Oh?

Apparently, the post-credits scene for the movie where Wooju played the main villain had featured an overwhelming presence from the actor.

People immediately searched MyTube for the post-credits scene.

Most videos were being deleted in real time, but curiosity couldn’t be stopped.

If it had been the actual movie featuring a Korean actor, perhaps people would go to theaters.

But honestly, who would go to a theater just to watch a post-credits scene?

[Black Wizard post-credits scene]

One video with 19,000 views was clicked.

A low-quality recording filmed on a phone appeared.

Oh.

Animals charging toward humanity accompanied by majestic music.

Then the appearance of the king leading them made viewers’ eyes widen.

Wow…

It was because of the charisma radiating from the villain despite the blurry quality.

Maybe it was the broad back covered by the coat.

As Fang slowly stood and turned his head, viewers instinctively flinched.

It felt as if he was looking directly at the humans sitting behind the camera.

And when he fully turned around—

The sight of Fang shedding a sorrow-filled tear from one eye created an indescribable feeling in viewers.

People understood immediately.

Why a short post-credits scene had become such a huge topic.

Because in that brief moment, Wooju’s acting conveyed various emotions: dignity, charisma, guilt, and sorrow.

“Wow……”

Someone tried replaying it, but the video was quickly removed due to copyright measures.

Meanwhile, new videos continued appearing.

The Black Wizard post-credits scene entered Korea’s real-time trends and search rankings.

Even global social media began stirring after news spread that Wooju appeared.

[1] Black Wizard Post-Credits Scene

[2] Fang

It was the moment a post-credits scene became more famous than the movie itself.

Silver Screen Headquarters.

The promotional executives gathered in the conference room wore complicated expressions.

“So…”

An executive asked.

“The marketing effect is huge?”

“Yes. The viral effect on social media is incredible. The Black Wizard post-credits scene has already become a trending topic on Twitter, and discussions are exploding in movie communities.”

“Oh?”

“Especially among geeks. They’re literally losing their minds right now.”

The marketing department employees spoke excitedly.

But the executive listening to them did not look entirely happy.

He was the person who had been present when Wooju filmed the post-credits scene.

The person who pushed forward the Fang post-credits project.

“Hmm.”

He asked,

“So ticket sales were barely affected?”

“Yes. It increased about 10% above our first-week projection, but that’s all.”

“Why?”

“Because nobody goes to theaters just to watch a post-credits scene.”

The executive clicked his tongue.

Because the employee’s words had hit the exact truth.

I thought the fans would come watch it anyway.

The goal had been to use NewBlack’s Wooju as bait to increase ’s revenue.

But it had not worked out as planned.

It was almost as if Souffle were saying this to the studio:

He realized something.

They had taken Souffle’s spending for granted.

If they wanted to take fans’ money, they needed a more delicate and sophisticated approach.

“Proceed with the project as planned. Let’s expand the second market.”

“The second market?”

“Figures, merchandise, shirts, things like that. Especially Fang. Make the quality as high-end as possible.”

“Yes.”

While giving instructions, the executive received another question from marketing.

“What should we do about the post-credits scene? We’re reporting every illegally recorded upload for copyright violations, but…”

The employee was asking whether they should turn a blind eye temporarily for the sake of publicity.

The executive shook his head.

“Keep removing them.”

“Yes.”

“But release the full post-credits scene officially.”

“Excuse me?”

“We can’t stop this trend anyway. And will people really come to theaters just to see the post-credits scene? It’s better to release it openly and let it become an even bigger issue.”

“We’ll do that.”

The Hollywood money monsters who smelled profit began moving.

The official video was uploaded to MyTube.

[Black Wizard Post-Credits Scene (Official Video Clip)]

The 1080p video immediately drew attention.

Many people interested in superhero films left comments.

And at that exact moment, there were people crying in front of their monitors.

They were Silver Comics’ Korean fans.

But even these reactions were nothing compared to the original Silver Comics fans overseas.

[Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!!!]

[I waited all this time to see this!!]

Reaction videos showed fans losing their minds.

Some slammed their keyboards.

Others screamed “Wow!” among themselves.

And there was a reason.

“Honestly, I’ll say it. I feel like I’m going insane from happiness.”

A large man wearing headphones and stroking his beard shared his thoughts.

He was a famous hardcore Silver Comics fan.

“To outsiders, it might look like a bunch of smelly guys making a huge deal over a one-minute post-credits scene. But nothing like this has ever happened before. Look. Even in a post-credits scene, you can feel the dignity of an Academy Award-winning director.”

The colors and direction were something Silver Comics, which had always carried a B-grade feeling, had never shown before.

“And what about Sunny’s acting?? I don’t care what those fucking racists say. He is Fang. He is the Fang we searched and searched for!”

The fan raised both arms in excitement.

“King of all creatures in this world! We have waited for you…!!”

All Silver Comics fans were going wild.

A proper work was finally coming from a franchise filled with failures!

Of course, logically speaking, their expectations had no solid basis.

The movie had not even begun filming.

This was not even a trailer.

It was only a single post-credits scene.

But for exhausted fans, it was a video that felt like a ray of light.

Nothing anyone said could reach them.

The Silver Comics fans filled the comment sections as if releasing all their frustration from years of disappointment.

Even Souffle, who rarely lost in enthusiasm, could only stare in amazement at the sincerity of these comic fans.

……Comic nerds are the real deal. Seriously.

In review videos, fans were already analyzing everything.

What issue of the comics Wooju’s outfit appeared in.

Which versions of Fang from which issues his portrayal was based on.

Watching their excitement, Souffle members were once again impressed by Wooju’s ability.

Wooju really is amazing. He became a hot topic instantly.

<Guardians 2> had become the most anticipated superhero movie of the year with only a single post-credits scene.

Everyone was happy.

The studio.

The geeks.

Souffle.

And Koreans.

The only exception was probably—

[WONDER COMICS]

The employees of the company with that sign on its building.

“Damn it.”

“What kind of…”

They were speechless.

“A movie becoming a hot topic because of a post-credits scene alone? Does that even make sense? Isn’t that cheating?”

“It makes sense. Think about every movie Silver Comics has made until now. A post-credits scene like that would feel like a masterpiece.”

“True…”

They joked and tried to dismiss it, but the expressions of Wonder Comics employees were uneasy.

Because they felt it too.

This is dangerous……

Especially with a major film scheduled for release in the second half of the year, a serious competitor had appeared.

“How does this kind of buzz happen…? Is it because of NewBlack?”

“Can’t ignore that, can we?”

“Hmm……”

“Silver Comics must have realized something. I heard they gave John Edwards full control, and they’re preparing aggressive marketing using Sunny.”

While they were discussing this—

One Wonder Comics employee spoke.

“But we have a member of NewBlack too, don’t we?”

“Oh?”

“Ohhh?”

Their eyes lit up.

The reaction to the post-credits scene was incredibly strong.

Especially in Korea.

“Have you seen this, hyung?”

“What?”

“It’s the comments on Silver Screen Korea’s official account.”

On the tablet Biju showed me, comments filled with likes appeared one after another.

It seemed everyone was excited about the fact that a Korean actor was appearing as the main villain in a famous overseas franchise.

Not only that, but in a major role.

I smiled as I scrolled through the comments.

Then I noticed something.

The comments Biju had liked just kept going.

“Biju?”

“Yes?”

“How many likes did you leave?”

“Uh… now that you mention it?”

I laughed at my second-youngest member, who smiled sheepishly, and looked away.

Junghyun and Ri Hyuk were also watching the online reactions with interest.

Then they carefully looked toward the youngest.

Jiho was quietly observing reactions to my post-credits scene, his eyelashes lowered.

A serious expression.

Swoosh.

Jiho raised his head, met my eyes, and frowned.

“Why are you looking at me with those deep eyes?”

“I’m taking care of your feelings. So you don’t run off to eat tteokbokki again.”

Everyone burst out laughing.

“Ah, seriously! How many years are you going to keep bringing up something I did when I was a kid?”

“I’ll bring it up until you’re seventy.”

“I don’t get jealous over things like this anymore.”

Jiho brushed his hair back and said,

“It’s just that sometimes it’s fascinating. I think you have one really strange talent, hyung.”

“……?”

“You know I’m better at acting, right? But whenever I look at you, no matter what you do, you always take the biggest impact and attention.”

The other members nodded in agreement.

“I agree. Everyone says I’m the better singer too. But somehow, this guy gets the highlight clips.”

“Yeah, true.”

“Wait? I thought I was the only one who felt that.”

While I scratched the back of my head awkwardly, Jiho nodded.

“How should I put it? Hyung is really… like a celebrity. When you wear something, it becomes a topic. When you appear in a post-credits scene, it becomes a topic. But it’s not just because you’re you. It feels like you instinctively know exactly what point will create the biggest reaction.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Anyway, it’s just like that.”

Jiho pursed his lips.

“So at first, I was really jealous. You don’t even act that much, but you always take all the impact.”

“And?”

“Recently, I realized something.”

Jiho smiled proudly.

“That hyung and I are members of the same group.”

“……?”

“If hyung does something, some of that also comes to me.”

I was tilting my head in confusion when—

Seokhwan hyung finished his call and approached us with a smile.

“Good news. Both of you have additional filming schedules.”

“?”

“There’s the Super Bowl soon, right? They want to film scenes of you two for a special Super Bowl movie trailer. It seems both studios want the name NewBlack because the post-credits scene created such a huge buzz.”

“Fufufufufufufufufufu.”

I turned my head and saw the youngest laughing smugly.

“See? I told you. The name of the game is: hyung does the work, and King Wang gets the money! Hahahahaha!”

“……”

“If you just stick next to hyung, life is basically on easy mode!”

It seemed…

Jiho had gained some kind of realization.

Just perhaps, not the healthiest one.